FORT MYERS, Fla. — Georgia Southern Softball picked up a historic victory on Friday afternoon with a 1-0 win over Southern Illinois in the opening game of the FGCU/LaQuinta Inn at the Airport Tournament.
    Sarah Purvis tossed the first perfect game in program history in the weekend’s opening game, facing the minimum of 21 batters. In game two, the Eagles took advantage of a late Wichita State error to force extra innings and ultimately win 4-3 in eight innings.
    “It was a great day for Georgia Southern Softball,” said Head Coach Annie Smith. “It was great to be a part of the first perfect game in school history. It was a tremendous game for Sarah and we are so proud of her. In game two we had a great team effort to come back and win. We got behind early, but we kept working and it paid off in extra innings.”

 GAME ONE – GSU 1, Southern Illinois 0
    Sarah Purvis continued her masterful work in the pitching circle as the junior tossed the first perfect game in Georgia Southern softball history. She retired all 21 batters in order with 11 via the strikeout. Of the 10 balls that were put into play, eight were caught on the fly and two were ground outs. The 12th no-hit performance in school history is the second for Purivs after the junior tossed a no-no last season against LaSalle.
    All of the scoring took place in the top of the sixth inning. Andrea Tarashuk opened the frame with a single, but was replaced by a pinch runner, Dominique Grosman. The freshman stole second and came home with two outs when fellow freshman Lindsey Wilcox hit a single to centerfield, allowing Grossman to give GSU the decisive 1-0 advantage.
    Purvis is now 4-0 on the season with 42 total strikeouts. She was named SoCon Pitcher of the Week for the opening weekend of the season when she took a no-hitter through five and two-thirds in the season opener against St. John’s.
   
GAME TWO – GSU 4, Wichita St. 3 (8 Inn.)
    Back-to-back doubles in the first inning for Wichita State gave the shockers an early 2-0 lead. Wichita State added another run in the fourth inning for a 3-0 Shocker lead.
    The Eagles had a golden opportunity in the fourth inning, loading the bases with no outs, but a pair of strikeouts would retire the Eagle side in the frame.
    In the seventh with their backs against the wall, Georgia Southern got the leadoff runner aboard on an error, followed by an RBI triple by Lexi Allen. Allen came home to make it a 3-2 game on a sacrifice fly by Tabby Douberley. After a ground out to reduce the Eagles to their final out, Shelby Morrill crushed a home run to tie the game at 3-3 and sending the contest to extra innings.
    Entering the eighth inning Tarashuk was placed on second base in accordance with the international tiebreaker rule. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Breanna McLendon. A single by catcher A.J. Hamilton loaded the bases for Alexa Lewis with no outs. She delivered a sacrifice fly, scoring Tarashuk and giving the Eagles a 4-3 win.
    The Eagles face the Salukis again on Saturday at 9 a.m. before taking on top-ranked Alabama on Saturday afternoon at approximately 3:45 p.m. The weekend closes on Sunday afternoon at approximately 1:30 p.m. against Florida Gulf Coast.