MACON — A two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one by Mercer prevented a Georgia Southern sweep in softball action Saturday afternoon at Sikes Field.
Mercer scored all four of their runs in the opener in the final two innings to win 4-3. GSU exploded for eight runs in the nightcap to prevail 8-2. It was the season opener for Mercer while Georgia Southern moves to 3-1 on the young season.
The Eagles took a 3-0 lead after four innings in Game One thanks to a two-run homer in the first by junior Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) and a RBI double by sophomore Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) in the fourth.
GSU starter Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) allowed just three baserunners through the first five frames but ran into trouble in the sixth by loading the bases with one out. Cassy Neilson hit a sacrifice fly to score one and Ashley Anderson followed with a single to cut the lead to 3-2. Sophomore Kristan Glover (Evans, Ga.) retired the final batter to escape further damage.
The Bears took advantage of GSU miscues in the seventh to get the victory. Mercer loaded the bases with two outs and scored the tying run on a wild pitch and walked off with the win when Glover threw the ball away.
Lacey Richardson (0-2) earned the win in relief, tossing four innings of shutout ball. Glover (0-1) took the loss.
The Eagles scored five times in the sixth to break open a 3-2 game after rallying from an early 2-1 hole in the second game to win 8-2.
Junior Michelle Beasley (Metter, Ga.) capped off the outburst with a two-run double to score Russo and sophomore Jenny Side (Loganville, Ga.). Russo and Side also contributed run-scoring singles in the inning.
Siliga went 4-for-4 with two runs while Hopkins went 3-for-5 and also scored twice.
Freshman Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) went the distance for Georgia Southern allowing one earned run and four hits (1-0). Richardson (1-1) was tagged with the loss in relief after giving up six runs (three earned) and five hits in three innings of work.
Next up for Georgia Southern is a clash Wednesday at Jacksonville. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
SHS Drill Results
The Statesboro JROTC hosted all of Area 9 in a Military Drill meet on. The competition continued to get tougher as each school’s unit prepares for the regional meet on March 8. Results from the meet are listed below.
In Regulation Armed Squad (Male / Mix), Southeast Bulloch and Jenkins County tied for first. Statesboro came in second while Emanuel County Institute was third.
In Regulation Unarmed Squad (Male / Mix), Statesboro took first place, SEB was second, Jenkins County was third and Bryan County finished fourth.
In Regulation Unarmed Squad (Female), Metter took first and Statesboro was second
In the Color Guard competition, SEB was first, Metter was second, Jenkins County was third and Statesboro was fourth.
In the Female Color Guard, Jenkins County was first.
In Individual Exhibition Colonel Major Davis from Swainsboro took home first, Colonel 1st Sergeant Lawton from Statesboro was second, Cadet Manley from ECI was third and Cadet Butler from Metter finished fourth.
In the Individual Exhibition (Female) Vanamey Sykes of Statesboro won first.
GSU women’s tennis blanks Kennesaw
KENNESAW, Ga. — A solid team performance helped the Georgia Southern women’s tennis team earn their first victory of the season on Saturday, as they downed the Owls of Kennesaw State, 7-0, in Kennesaw.
The Eagles (1-3) got things rolling during doubles play. GSU swept all three matches earning the doubles point taking the early advantage. Sophomore Kristi Kegerreis (Fairfax, Va.) and Christine Caforio (Acworth, Ga.) defeated Ayano Tanaka and Agatha Palider 8-2 at the No. 1 singles position. The freshmen duo of Melanie Rolle (Gainesville, Fla.) and Ali Beavers (Kingsport, Tenn.) upended Kennesaw State’s tandem of Mercedes Cobos and Paula Takara 8-4. Molly Maddox (Rome, Ga.) and Jessica Matlosz (Alpharetta, Ga.) rounded out the doubles competiton as they took down Allison Baulis and Lindsay Dillon by a final of 8-1.
In singles action, Georgia Southern was equally as impressive as the Eagles didn’t lose a match to the Owls. Junior Shea Huxtable (Winter Springs, Fla.) and Rolle both used three sets to defeat their opponents. Huxtable defeated Karen Ammann 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 at the No. 5 position, while Rolle beat Tanaka 0-6, 6-1, 6-2 from the No. 2 slot. Jessica Fuller (Cartersville, Ga.) improved her record to (2-1) on the season as she handled Kennesaw State’s Jenna Wright 6-3, 6-1.
The Eagles return to action Feb. 17 as they play host to Mercer. The match is scheduled to begin at noon.
GSU golf in 10th place
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Georgia Southern golf team completed the first day of competition sitting in 10th place, Saturday, at the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the par-70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course on the campus of the University of Florida.
The Eagles finished the first day’s 36 holes shooting a 9-over 569, bettering Duke, North Florida, Georgia State and South Florida.
Tournament-host Florida holds a decided lead over the rest of the 14-team field, shooting a one-day total 18-under 542, which is 12 strokes better than runner-up, Florida State.
Junior Drew Lethem paces the team shooting an even-par 140 and sits tied for 21st place. Lethem shot a 70 in both the first and second rounds. Junior Ryan LeFevre shot a 2-over 142, tying for 31st place, and is followed by teammates Logan Blondell (+3), Chris Smith (+5) and Joe Monte (+6).
LeFevre and Blondell each shot a 70, apiece, in the second round.
The Eagles will play the third and final round, today with tee-times beginning at 8 a.m.
For end-of-day results and live stats, fans can go online to www.Golfstat.com. End-of-day recap and results will be posted at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
Metter beats Bryan County
PEMBROKE — Metter beat Bryan County 53-44 on Saturday night to close out the regular season.
Devin Byrd led the Tigers with (6-18) with 17 points. Geoffrey Thurman added 16 and Dillian Lawrence had 11.
The Tigers will open Region 3-AA tournament play on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. against Josey at Jefferson County.
If you have a score to report, please call the Herald Sports Desk at (912) 489-9408.
Mercer scored all four of their runs in the opener in the final two innings to win 4-3. GSU exploded for eight runs in the nightcap to prevail 8-2. It was the season opener for Mercer while Georgia Southern moves to 3-1 on the young season.
The Eagles took a 3-0 lead after four innings in Game One thanks to a two-run homer in the first by junior Robyne Siliga (Oceanside, Calif.) and a RBI double by sophomore Sam Russo (Snellville, Ga.) in the fourth.
GSU starter Melissa Laliberte (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada) allowed just three baserunners through the first five frames but ran into trouble in the sixth by loading the bases with one out. Cassy Neilson hit a sacrifice fly to score one and Ashley Anderson followed with a single to cut the lead to 3-2. Sophomore Kristan Glover (Evans, Ga.) retired the final batter to escape further damage.
The Bears took advantage of GSU miscues in the seventh to get the victory. Mercer loaded the bases with two outs and scored the tying run on a wild pitch and walked off with the win when Glover threw the ball away.
Lacey Richardson (0-2) earned the win in relief, tossing four innings of shutout ball. Glover (0-1) took the loss.
The Eagles scored five times in the sixth to break open a 3-2 game after rallying from an early 2-1 hole in the second game to win 8-2.
Junior Michelle Beasley (Metter, Ga.) capped off the outburst with a two-run double to score Russo and sophomore Jenny Side (Loganville, Ga.). Russo and Side also contributed run-scoring singles in the inning.
Siliga went 4-for-4 with two runs while Hopkins went 3-for-5 and also scored twice.
Freshman Megen Smith (Springfield, Ga.) went the distance for Georgia Southern allowing one earned run and four hits (1-0). Richardson (1-1) was tagged with the loss in relief after giving up six runs (three earned) and five hits in three innings of work.
Next up for Georgia Southern is a clash Wednesday at Jacksonville. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
SHS Drill Results
The Statesboro JROTC hosted all of Area 9 in a Military Drill meet on. The competition continued to get tougher as each school’s unit prepares for the regional meet on March 8. Results from the meet are listed below.
In Regulation Armed Squad (Male / Mix), Southeast Bulloch and Jenkins County tied for first. Statesboro came in second while Emanuel County Institute was third.
In Regulation Unarmed Squad (Male / Mix), Statesboro took first place, SEB was second, Jenkins County was third and Bryan County finished fourth.
In Regulation Unarmed Squad (Female), Metter took first and Statesboro was second
In the Color Guard competition, SEB was first, Metter was second, Jenkins County was third and Statesboro was fourth.
In the Female Color Guard, Jenkins County was first.
In Individual Exhibition Colonel Major Davis from Swainsboro took home first, Colonel 1st Sergeant Lawton from Statesboro was second, Cadet Manley from ECI was third and Cadet Butler from Metter finished fourth.
In the Individual Exhibition (Female) Vanamey Sykes of Statesboro won first.
GSU women’s tennis blanks Kennesaw
KENNESAW, Ga. — A solid team performance helped the Georgia Southern women’s tennis team earn their first victory of the season on Saturday, as they downed the Owls of Kennesaw State, 7-0, in Kennesaw.
The Eagles (1-3) got things rolling during doubles play. GSU swept all three matches earning the doubles point taking the early advantage. Sophomore Kristi Kegerreis (Fairfax, Va.) and Christine Caforio (Acworth, Ga.) defeated Ayano Tanaka and Agatha Palider 8-2 at the No. 1 singles position. The freshmen duo of Melanie Rolle (Gainesville, Fla.) and Ali Beavers (Kingsport, Tenn.) upended Kennesaw State’s tandem of Mercedes Cobos and Paula Takara 8-4. Molly Maddox (Rome, Ga.) and Jessica Matlosz (Alpharetta, Ga.) rounded out the doubles competiton as they took down Allison Baulis and Lindsay Dillon by a final of 8-1.
In singles action, Georgia Southern was equally as impressive as the Eagles didn’t lose a match to the Owls. Junior Shea Huxtable (Winter Springs, Fla.) and Rolle both used three sets to defeat their opponents. Huxtable defeated Karen Ammann 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 at the No. 5 position, while Rolle beat Tanaka 0-6, 6-1, 6-2 from the No. 2 slot. Jessica Fuller (Cartersville, Ga.) improved her record to (2-1) on the season as she handled Kennesaw State’s Jenna Wright 6-3, 6-1.
The Eagles return to action Feb. 17 as they play host to Mercer. The match is scheduled to begin at noon.
GSU golf in 10th place
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Georgia Southern golf team completed the first day of competition sitting in 10th place, Saturday, at the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the par-70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course on the campus of the University of Florida.
The Eagles finished the first day’s 36 holes shooting a 9-over 569, bettering Duke, North Florida, Georgia State and South Florida.
Tournament-host Florida holds a decided lead over the rest of the 14-team field, shooting a one-day total 18-under 542, which is 12 strokes better than runner-up, Florida State.
Junior Drew Lethem paces the team shooting an even-par 140 and sits tied for 21st place. Lethem shot a 70 in both the first and second rounds. Junior Ryan LeFevre shot a 2-over 142, tying for 31st place, and is followed by teammates Logan Blondell (+3), Chris Smith (+5) and Joe Monte (+6).
LeFevre and Blondell each shot a 70, apiece, in the second round.
The Eagles will play the third and final round, today with tee-times beginning at 8 a.m.
For end-of-day results and live stats, fans can go online to www.Golfstat.com. End-of-day recap and results will be posted at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
Metter beats Bryan County
PEMBROKE — Metter beat Bryan County 53-44 on Saturday night to close out the regular season.
Devin Byrd led the Tigers with (6-18) with 17 points. Geoffrey Thurman added 16 and Dillian Lawrence had 11.
The Tigers will open Region 3-AA tournament play on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. against Josey at Jefferson County.
If you have a score to report, please call the Herald Sports Desk at (912) 489-9408.
