STATESBORO - Georgia Southern softball dropped a pair of games on the second day of the 2023 GATA Challenge at Eagle Field on Saturday. The Eagles lost to Middle Tennessee, 5-0, and North Carolina A&T, 11-8.

In the other action in the GATA Challenge on Saturday, Middle Tennessee defeated North Carolina A&T, 14-0, in five innings.

The GATA Challenge concludes on Sunday with a single game between the Eagles and North Carolina A&T at 11 a.m.

GAME ONE: Middle Tennessee 5, Georgia Southern 0

Middle Tennessee's Keri Munn and Kamryn Carcich combined on a two-hit shutout to give the Blue Raiders a perfect weekend in the GATA Challenge.

The Blue Raiders scored once in the first, then got three in the fifth, highlighted by Laura Mealer's two-run triple.

Munn (3-0) pitched four innings of one-hit shutout ball, walking three and striking out one to notch the win. Carcich hurled three innings of one-hit shutout ball for her third save of the season. Bailey Holland (2-4) took the loss for the Eagles in a complete-game effort, giving up eight hits and five runs in seven innings of work, walking one while striking out four.

GAME TWO: North Carolina A&T 11, Georgia Southern 8

A six-run second inning sparked the Aggies to their first win of the GATA Challenge, collecting the 11-8 victory over the Eagles in the final game of the day.

Jai Deese launched a pair of home runs - a two-run shot in the second and another two-run shot in the sixth - to lead the Aggie attack.

Georgia Southern battled back from the early 6-0 deficit to cut the lead to just one, 6-5, with two runs in the second and three runs in the third, capped by a two-run single by Katie Perkins.

But the Aggies scored in each of the next two innings to push the lead back to four, 9-5. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Eagles loaded the bases against North Carolina A&T pitcher Joey Barkhimer, but managed just one run out of the threat.

The two-run shot by Deese put the Aggies up 11-6 heading into the bottom of the sixth, when Dejah Mills launched her own two-run shot to bring the margin back to three, but that would be as close as the Eagles would get.

Barkhimer (1-0) pitched four-plus innings, giving up 10 hits and six runs to notch the win, walking three while striking out two. Kayla Douglas hurled the final three innings for her first save of the season. Kastin Belogorska (0-1) took the loss for the Eagles, giving up four hits and six runs - five earned - in 1 1/3 innings of work, walking one.

Dejah Mills went 4-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI to lead the Eagles offensively, while Olivia Creamer had three hits.