KENNESAW — Georgia Southern Softball opened its trip to Kennesaw State with a pair of victories over the Owls at Bailey Park. GSU won the opener, 5-1, behind a two-hitter from starting pitcher Sarah Purvis. The Eagles slugged out 13 hits in the second game, five for extra bases to earn the 10-4 win and improve to 19-10 on the year. Marie Fogle went 6-for-8 in the doubleheader, raising her team-high batting average to .484 on the year
"We played two great games today," said Head Coach Annie Smith. "Our pitchers continued to throw at a very high level. In the second game, we gave up some early runs, but our team didn’t quit and rallied for the win."
Game One
The Eagles opened the series in style with a run in the first inning off a rocket-shot double to the wall in center by Marie Fogle. Her shot to the gap allowed the speedy Alexa Lewis to score from first base after her leadoff single to open the contest. Fogle, however, would be stranded at second after consecutive strikeouts ended the Georgia Southern threat in the first frame.
Kennesaw’s Lindsay Vollmer leveled the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the second with a leadoff home run to centerfield.
Lewis scored a run on her own to open the fifth inning with a leadoff home run to centerfield. The ball left the park with a ding, hitting the flagpole in center for Lewis’ second career home run. Another two runs scored in the inning as a result of a fielding error with two outs in the inning. Pinch runner Breanna McLendon and Hanna Ennis each crossed the plate to give the Eagles a 4-1 lead.
With one out in the seventh inning, Fogle added an insurance run with a home run to left field. It was her fourth four-bagger this season and 22nd in her illustrious career at Georgia Southern. GSU would strand two more runners in the frame, finishing the offensive phase of the game with five runs off nine hits and one KSU error to lead 5-1 into the bottom of the seventh.
Starting pitcher Sarah Purvis dismissed the Owls with no trouble in the seventh, holding Kennesaw State to the one run off two total hits. She fanned eight batters while throwing 100 pitches to get the win. The victory also lowers Purvis’ ERA to 1.96 on the season.
Game Two
The Owls took an early advantage in game two, stringing together three-straight singles before a bases loaded hit by pitch brought in the game’s opening run, giving Kennesaw State the early 1-0 lead. They added another run to the lead in the second inning to lead 2-0.
After a leadoff hit by Lewis in the third, Ennis skied a high fly ball down the right field line for a game-tying two-run home run. It was her third bomb of the season and 13th career homer. Ennis’ hit sparked the Eagle bats as Fogle hit a double down the right field line, reaching third soon after on a fly out to right. A wild pitch brought Fogle home to give Georgia Southern a 3-2 lead.
With two runners aboard in the top of the fifth, Andrea Tarashuk launched her first career home run over the fence in left field. Tarashuk is the ninth Eagle this season to hit a home run. Her blast gave the Eagles a 6-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Kennesaw State drew back a pair of runs with a two RBI single to the gap in left center from Kaylee Williams. The runs made the score 6-2 through five complete innings.
Georgia Southern extended the lead back to four runs in the top of the seventh on Mackenzie Williams’ two RBI double to centerfield. Her liner scored Fogle and Ennis from first and second bases, respectively. Williams came home from second later in the inning on Tarashuk’s RBI double to the gap in left for her fourth RBI of the game to match both her career high and the most for an Eagle batter this season.
Later in the inning, Douberley’s infield single with two outs allowed Tarashuk to score from second thanks to alert base running from the Eagle third baseman. The run gave Georgia Southern a 10-4 lead going into Kennesaw’s final trip to the plate.
Relief pitcher Marla Thompson nailed down the save, her first career save by going the final two and two-thirds of the victory.
She allowed just two hits in the appearance with no runs charged against her. Freshman Brooke Red (Warner Robins, Ga.) improved to 8-0 in the circle with the victory. She went the first four and a third innings and was saddled with four runs, three earned in the outing.
The Eagles wrap-up the three-game series against Kennesaw State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The game will close out Kennesaw State’s first three-game series in program history.
