STATESBORO - Georgia Southern junior first baseman Faith Shirley has been named the Sun Belt Conference's Softball Player of the Week, announced today by league officials.

Shirley helped the Eagles to their first Sun Belt series win of the year over the weekend in Conway, S.C. by hitting .500 and slugging 1.100 in Georgia Southern's three games at Coastal Carolina. The Winston, Ga., native went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and four RBI in Saturday's 9-1 win in six innings, then added another double and an RBI in the 7-6 nightcap win on Saturday to clinch the series. Shirley added a home run - her team-leading sixth of the year - in the first game of the series. Overall, Shirley collected three doubles and a home run in her five hits on the weekend and also played an errorless first base in 15 total chances.

She is the first Georgia Southern player to earn Sun Belt Player of the Week honors since Logan Harrell earned the league's weekly honor on Feb. 19, 2019. Shirley joins Harrell, who was twice a Sun Belt Player of the Week honoree, as well as Lydia Witkowski (2016) and AJ Hamilton (2015) as Eagles to earn Sun Belt Player of the Week honors since joining the league.

Shirley and the Eagles are in action on Tuesday afternoon, hosting Charleston Southern in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. at Eagle Field.