STATESBORO, Ga. – Olivia Bennett slammed her second home run of the game in the top of the eighth inning, a two-run shot that proved to be the game-winner as Tennessee Tech (2-5) handed host Georgia Southern a 4-2 extra inning loss Saturday afternoon.
Bennett staked Tech to a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the first inning, and finished the game with three RBI and a 2-for-4 showing. The Mentone, Calif. product leads Tech with a .350 batting average and a .650 slugging percentage through the first seven games.
The game-winner came after GSU (1-6) had tied the game with one run in the bottom of the seventh, before Danielle Liberatore (1-3) slammed the door with the potential winning run at third base.
Down 2-1 with one out, lexi Allen tripled in the seventh. Liberatore got a groundout that held the runner on third, then walked a Alesha Mann, who promptly stole second. Taylor Rogers' infield single brought Allen home and moved Mann to third, but Liberatore coaxed a threat-snuffing groundout to second base.
In the Tech eight, Madison Taylor drew a one-out walk to force a Georgia State pitching change before Bennett stepped in.
It didn't matter. Heather Felt fell behind 3-0 before Bennett deposited the next pitch beyond the left center fence for Tech's 4-2 lead.
After getting a strikeout to start the bottom of the eighths, Liberatore walked Rowan McGuire but then got A.J. Hamilton to line back up the middle. Liberatore snared the shot and doubled McGuire off first base to end the game.
Mann's RBI double in the fifth inning drove home Allen with the Eagles first run to make it a 1-1 contest.
Tech regained the lead in the next half inning as freshman Callen Griffin opened the frame by ripping a double to right center. She moved to third on a sacrifice by Angi Sakamoto, and scored on a single by Taylor.
The Golden Eagles missed a chance to add insurance runs to their 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth, leaving the bases loaded following walks by Kelly Kennedy and Sabrie Need, and a walk to Hannah Eldridge.
Liberatore went the distance in the circle, striking out nine while allowing just four hits and walking three.
GSU starter K. Camp (0-3) took the loss, pitching 7.1 innings and allowing three runs on six hits. She walked three and struck out two. Rogers had two of GSU's four hits, slapping a pair of singles in the leadoff spot.
The Golden Eagles wrap up play in the Georgia Southern Eagle Classic with a pair of games Sunday. Tech Binghampton (N.Y.) at 11 a.m., and finishes with a rematch against Georgia Southern at 1 p.m.
