STATESBORO – Georgia Southern softball (15-11, 1-0 SBC) opened Sun Belt conference play taking a 1-0 victory over Southern Miss (12-14, 0-1 SBC) on Friday afternoon at Beautiful Eagle Field. 

The victory marks Georgia Southern's second consecutive Sun Belt opening victory and sixth Sun Belt opening win in program history. 

Georgia Southern got out to a quick start in the bottom of the opening frame taking an early 1-0 lead. Kayla Christensen drew a lead off walk and Valerie Combs recorded a base to put two runners on. Faith Barth pushed the first run of the inning across on an RBI base hit through the left side. Delanie Thames tallied a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position for Payton Cushman. Cushman plated the Eagles' second run of the frame on a RBI groundout to make it 2-0 after one. 

The Eagles would extend its lead in the third on a Madi Gillespie RBI single to score Thames who drew a four-pitch walk earlier in the innings. Southern Miss looked to cut into the lead in the next half inning by scoring on a two-out RBI double to make it 3-1, but a fly out to left ended the threat. 

Georgia Southern extended its lead back out to three in the sixth as pinch hitter Braelyn Queen recorded an RBI sac fly for a 4-1 lead. Emma Davis doubled to right center before advancing to third on a wild pitch to then score on the play. 

Bailey Holland (4-5) was dominant in the circle tossing four complete innings allowing just one run on five hits. The junior picked up two strikeouts in the circle and surrendered just one walk. Morgan Kendrick (1) earned the save allowing no hit in three complete innings. 

Six Eagles tallied hits in the contest as Davis led the offense going 2-for-2 with a walk. The multi-hit performance marks her fourth multi-hit performance. Christensen extended her reached base streak to 13 games as she went 1-for-3 on the day with a walk. 

Next Up
Georgia Southern looks to take the series against Southern Miss on Saturday at Beautiful Eagle Field. The teams will play a doubleheader beginning tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. with game two 40 minutes after the conclusion of game one. The games are set to be broadcast on ESPN+.