CONWAY, S.C. - Georgia Southern softball claimed its first Sun Belt Conference series win of the year by sweeping Saturday's doubleheader from host Coastal Carolina by 9-1 and 7-6 scores in Conway.

The Eagles improved to 9-18 overall and 2-9 in the Sun Belt with the wins, while Coastal Carolina falls to 9-18 overall and 2-10 in the league. Georgia Southern next begins a six-game homestand by hosting Charleston Southern on Tuesday, April 13, for a 4 p.m. doubleheader at Eagle Field.

"Obviously, it's been a rough last few weeks," Georgia Southern Head Coach Kim Dean said. "We've been putting in really good fights, but not securing wins. And after last night's loss in the seventh, we just had a really good team talk this morning. It's easy to put up one big inning and get comfortable, but we stressed having as many good innings as possible. I felt, across the board, we had a lot of outstanding performances. Our pitching threw well, our hitters came up huge and defensively we made some incredible plays. We scored quite a few runs today, but still left more out there. It takes a village to win, and to come back when you've had some tough times. But today was just 25 women fighting hard for each other."

GAME ONE: Georgia Southern 9, Coastal Carolina 1 (6 inn.)

The Eagles used a five-run second inning to race past the Chanticleers in six innings, collecting the 9-1 win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.

Bailee Wilson launched a two-run home run to start the scoring in the second. A first-and-third steal play brought home another run, then Mekhia Freeman followed with an RBI double for the fifth-year player's 200th career hit. She is one of only five Georgia Southern softball players to reach the 200 hit plateau.

Faith Shirley capped the inning with a two-run single. The Eagles added a run in the third as Ashlynn Gunter drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 6-0.

Coastal Carolina plated a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Abbey Montoya. Shirley drove in two more runs in the top of the sixth, then scored on a wild pitch for the final 9-1 scoreline.

Kyleigh Richardson (3-4) notched the win for the Eagles in the circle, hurling 4 2/3 innings of three-hit, one-run ball, walking one and striking out one. Iyanla De Jesus (2-6) took the loss for the Chanticleers, giving up four hits and four runs in 1 2/3 innings of work, walking one and striking out two.

Shirley finished the game 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and four RBI, while Freeman and Janai Conklin each had two hits apiece.

GAME TWO: Georgia Southern 7, Coastal Carolina 6

Shayla Smith launched a pair of home runs and Harlee Rewis kept the Chanticleers off the scoreboard for the final 2 2/3 innings as Georgia Southern earned the sweep with a 7-6 win over Coastal Carolina in the nightcap.

Smith's first home run was a solo shot in the third inning, then her two-run blast in the top of the fourth snapped a 3-3 tie. A wild pitch scored Mekhia Freeman and Faith Shirley had an RBI groundout that capped the four-run inning and put the Eagles on top by a 7-3 score.

Coastal Carolina chipped away at the Eagle lead with two runs in the fourth. Leading off the top of the fifth, Mekhia Freeman robbed Kayla Rosado of a home run with a fantastic grab in center field. With a runner on second and one out in the inning, Rewis entered the game. An error led to the sixth run scoring for the Chanticleers, but Rewis escaped the jam with a fly out on another outstanding play by Alia Booth in right field.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Chanticleers got a leadoff double by Kayla Rosado. A sacrifice then put pinch runner Paige Rivas on third with less than two out. Rewis struck out Mary Sobataka for the second out of the inning, then after a walk, retired Stavi Augur on a grounder back to the pitcher to preserve the win.

Rylee Waldrep (3-4) earned the win for the Eagles in relief, giving up six hits and five runs - four earned - in 2 1/3 innings of work, walking two. Rewis notched her first save of the season, giving up just two hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings, striking out two.

Shayla Smith's two home runs and three RBI led the Eagles offensively in game two, while Janai Conklin went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.