Eagles' Bats Come Alive to Avoid the Sweep

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Eight runs in the final three innings and another strong pitching performance helped the Georgia Southern Baseball team avoid a sweep. The Eagles tallied just five hits in yesterday's 3-0 loss but recorded 12 hits in a 9-1 win over Indiana on Sunday.

Will Middour (Atlanta, Ga.) gave Georgia Southern (23-19) its third solid start and tied a career-high of seven innings pitched. Middour (2-2) avoided the first inning troubles that plagued the Eagles in the first three games this week and held the Hoosiers to just one unearned run on five hits.

Even without the first inning run, Indiana (18-22) struck first with a single run in the fourth inning on a fielder's choice. Michael Basil came to the plate with two runners in scoring position and drove in the run with a ground ball to the left side. Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) fielded the ball quickly and gunned down the runner coming from second base to help keep the inning to just one run.

Georgia Southern (23-19) finally broke through for their first lead of the series with a five-run seventh inning. The Eagles sent 10 batters to the plate and tallied four-straight hits to score the first two runs off of Matt Dearden. Dearden (1-5) did not record an out and gave up the first two runs in the seventh inning.

Trying to lay down a bunt, Zac Lenns (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) cracked open a 1-1 tie with a slash hit past the crashing first baseman to plate a lead off single in Stryker Brown (Dalton, Ga.). Brent Pugh (Atlanta, Ga.) also struggled with laying down a bunt, but bounced a ball past a diving Chad Clark at third base to score a second run.

After a sacrifice fly from Phillips recorded the second out, Pugh beat out a short throw on a fielder's choice at second base and kept the inning alive for Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.). The junior leftfielder plated the final two runs in the inning with a single through the left side.

In the sixth inning, Burruss plated the tying run on a sacrifice fly to right field. The Eagles picked up their first run of the game after Scooter Williams (Detroit, Mich.) tallied a base hit by beating out a throw from second base and moved into scoring position after the Dustin DeMuth throw sailed wide of first base.

Chase Griffin (Leesburg, Ga.) struck for his first hit of the day in the ninth inning and drove in two runs with a single. The Eagles led off the frame with three-straight hits and scored the first of three runs on a Tyler Avera (Baxley, Ga.) single.

Georgia Southern returns to action next weekend at The Citadel. The Eagles will get a week off in the mid-week before wrapping up a seven-game road trip in Charleston.

All baseball games this season can be heard on the Boomer 103.7 FM and inside J.I. Clements Stadium on 88.1 FM. Audio for all games is also available on the web and subscription video is available for all home games at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision.

Fans can follow their Eagles at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or receive short updates at facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics or on Google+ at gplus.to/GSAthletics.

Category: Baseball

Published on Sunday, 22 April 2012 15:21