CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina softball team (27-9) rallied from a 3-0 deficit versus Georgia Southern (11-19) to secure a 5-4 win on Saturday at St. John Stadium.
 
The Eagles were first to strike in the top of the third inning when Emma Davis struck an RBI single to third base to put GS up 1-0. GS's Faith Barth immediately followed with a single of her own up the middle to drive in two RBIs and extend the Eagles' lead to 3-0.
 
There were two consecutive scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth innings in which Nicolette Picone allowed just one hit and GS's starting pitcher Alana Barnard gave up two hits.
 
The Chants' bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth inning after a leadoff single by Iyanla De Jesus, a walk, and a single from Indya Smith to right field loaded the bases. Freshman Livi Payne then stepped up to the plate and crushed a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in an RBI to make the score 3-1.
 
The Chants leveled the score in the bottom of the sixth inning when Abbey Montoya ripped a single to shortstop and advanced to second of a throwing error, which allowed Maddy Jennings and Smith to reach home to even the score at 3-3.
 
The runs kept coming for the Chants after Barth's second consecutive throwing error gave Montoya the chance to sneak home to give Coastal a 4-3 lead. The next hitter, Riley Zana then smashed a double down the right-field line to drive in Diamond Williams from second base to put CCU up 5-3 at the end of the sixth inning.
 
The Eagles sought a comeback in the top of the seventh inning when Barth crushed a double down the right-field line to get into scoring position. Georgia Southern's Dejah Mills then drilled a single to left field and a fielding miscue allowed Barth to score to narrow the gap to 5-4. However, the Chants held firm to secure the final two outs to take the victory at 5-4.
 
Picone advanced to 6-2 with the win, recording 4.0-shutout innings and striking out one hitter, while Raelee Brabham notched her third save of the season giving up one run in 1.0 innings of work.
 
The Chanticleers and Eagles will take the field tomorrow at noon ET at St. John Stadium for the final game of the series.
 
For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (Twitter), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.