STATESBORO - Georgia Southern and No. 23 Louisiana slugged their way to a Sun Belt Conference softball split on Saturday at Eagle Field. The Ragin' Cajuns won game one, 11-3, in six innings, while the Eagles won game two, 12-10.
The Eagles move to 7-14 overall and 2-3 in the Sun Belt with the win, while Louisiana moves to 16-8 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt. The two teams will wrap up their three game series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch at Eagle Field.
The win over the No. 23-ranked Ragin' Cajuns was the first home win over a nationally-ranked team for Georgia Southern softball since a 2-0 win over then-No. 8 Louisiana on May 1, 2016. The last three wins for the Eagles over nationally-ranked opponents have all come at the hands of the Ragin' Cajuns.
GAME ONE: #23 Louisiana 11, Georgia Southern 3 (6 inn.)
Faith Shirley and Jess Mazur blasted first-inning home runs for the Eagles as Georgia Southern built a 3-1 lead, but the Ragin' Cajuns scored 10 unanswered to claim the game one win in six innings.
Ashleigh Duty led off the game with a single to left, then Shirley and Mazur went back-to-back with home runs to left field off of Louisiana starter Sam Landry (6-2). Landry then settled down and allowed no more hits through her four innings of work, walking three while striking out six.
The Ragin' Cajuns scored four runs in the third inning to erase the deficit and finished the game with 11 runs on 11 hits. Taylor Roman and Maddie Hayden had three hits apiece for Louisiana.
Shirley finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBI to lead the Eagles offensively. Kastin Belogorska (2-7) took the loss in the circle for Georgia Southern, giving up seven hits and six runs - five earned - in 2 1/3 innings of work, walking one and striking out one.
GAME TWO: Georgia Southern 12, #23 Louisiana 10
The Eagles again got off to a hot start in game two, loading the bases with three infield hits. A wild pitch scored a pair of runs, then a throwing error by the catcher gave Georgia Southern a 3-0 lead.
Louisiana tied things up in the top of the second on an RBI double by Melissa Mayeaux and a two-run home run from Karly Heath.
The Eagles answered quickly with a six-spot in the bottom of the second, capped by a three-run home run from Janai Conklin. The Ragin' Cajuns plated four in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 9-7, but Conklin again delivered a three-run blast in the bottom of the fourth to make it 12-7. It was Conklin's first career two-home run game.
The Ragin' Cajuns plated three in the sixth to pull within two, but Kastin Belogorska (3-7) hurled a scoreless seventh to put a cap on the victory. Belogorska hurled 3 1/3 innings of six-hit relief, giving up four runs - two earned - and walking one while striking out two.
The 12 runs scored by the Eagles are the most put up by Georgia Southern in a single game against Louisiana. The previous high was three runs, set multiple times.
