BOX SCORE (PDF)

STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Baseball took a 4-3 win over Fairfield in the series opener on Friday night. The Eagles scored three of their four runs off sacrifice flies. In the seventh inning, Mason McWhorter and Noah Searcy each delivered sacrifice flies to tie and give the Eagles the lead on back-to-back at bats. Game two is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday with Sunday's finale set for 11:30 a.m.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"It was big to bounce back after two losses and get the win tonight. It didn't start the way you would draw it up, but we did enough to get the win. I thought it was big for (Brian) Eichhorn to get through the six inning. His pitch count was getting up there, but Matt Anderson helped him out by picking off a runner and he got out of the inning."

SCORING PLAYS
Top 1st - Fairfield struck first with a pair of runs in the first inning off two hits and a walk. Boselli's single through the left side did the damage to five the northerners a quick 2-0 advantage.
Bottom 4th - Mason McWhorter kick started the fourth inning with a leadoff double, advancing to third on a ground ball to short. Matt Anderson lifted a sacrifice fly to center which allowed McWhorter to scamper home.
Bottom 5th - Steven Curry reached with a one out single in the fifth. The sophomore moved up with a wild pitch as Mitchell Golden struck out. Jason Swan promptly doubled through the left side allowing Curry to score easily and tie the game at 2-2.
Top 7th - A leadoff walk to start the seventh by Zach Strickland was punished by the Stags who played small ball after a wild pitch to get the runner to third. A sacrifice fly plated the go-ahead run as Fairfield took the lead for the second time in the game.
Bottom 7th - The Eagles were quickly in business in the seventh with Curry reaching first the painful way, followed by a single and a wild pitch to put runners on second and third. A walk to Swan loaded the bases, but McWhorter did his job, flying out to left, allowing Curry to score for the second time and tie the game. Golden advanced to third on the play, and scored two pitches later on Noah Searcy's sacrifice fly, staking the Eagles to a 4-3 lead.

NOTES
- Brian Eichhorn earned his first quality start of the season, going six innings and allowing just two runs off three hits while throwing 103 pitches. The junior fanned eight batters, but did not factor in the decision.
- Braxton Johns earned his first Division I win, working an inning and a third. He entered in the seventh with a runner aboard. He allowed a pair of sacrifices in the seventh with a walk and a double in the eighth before making his exit. The Statesboro native transferred to Georgia Southern in the offseason from East Georgia.
- Chase Cohen now has two career saves, picking up his second with an inning and two thirds worth of work on Friday night. He struck out two and did not allow a batter to reach.
- Mitchell Golden went 2-for-3 to extend his hit streak to 10-straight games.

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