Baseball Drops Doubleheader to Boston College

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern opened the season suffering a doubleheader sweep at J.I. Clements Stadium to Boston College, 11-7 and 14-7.

Game one started well for BC as leadoff hitter Marc Perdios hit a 3-1 fastball to centerfield, just out of the reach of Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock). Drew Murray (LaGrange/LaGrange) rebounded to strikeout a pair of Eagles in the frame.

BC (2-0) added another run in the second thanks to Robert Anton’s RBI double. However, the Eagles charged back in their half. A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) started the one-out rally with a single to third base. Kyle Blackburn (Marietta/Walton) walked then Jonathan King (Athens, TN/McMinn County) recorded his first hit as an Eagle, a RBI single to centerfield.

Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) walked to load the bases. Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) and Miller delivered back-to-back RBI singles putting GS ahead 3-2.

Eric Campbell nailed a 2-run homer in the top of the third then Michael Belfiore followed two batters later with a RBI single, giving BC a 5-3 lead.

Georgia Southern regained the lead in its half of the fourth. King singled, Pierce doubled and Beckham drew a walk to load the bases with no one out. Miller walked to bring home a run. Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) grounded into a double play but Pierce scored to tie the game. Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) roped a 2-run shot down the right field line for a 7-5 lead.

Boston College got a RBI groundout in the sixth, then staged a two-out rally in the seventh inning to regain the lead for good. Matt Hamlet hit a 2-run homer. Garret Smith singled and scored on Robert Anston’s RBI double for a 9-7 lead. BC batted around following a RBI double, RBI single and hit batter. Junior Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr’s Mill) came on in relief and got the final out of the inning.

Freshman Trent Franzago (Byron/Peach County) suffered the loss, allowing five runs in 1.2 innings. Murray was charged for five runs in five innings, striking out four. Nation matched a career-high throwing 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while fanning three. Miller, Shehan and King had two hits apiece for the Eagles.

James MacDonald (1-0) scattered three hits over the final five innings to earn the win. Starter Terry Doyle allowed seven runs on eight hits. He walked four and struck out three. Perdios, Campbell, Hamlet and Smith had three hits apiece.

The Eagles lost their fourth season-opener over the last five years.

Georgia Southern out-hit BC 18-15 in the nightcap, however the Eagles from the Atlantic Coast Conference hit seven home runs – three by Sam Shaughnessy.

Shaughnessy, Campbell and Smith all hit a 2-run homer off Eagle starter Aaron Eubanks (Moultrie/Colquitt County) in the third inning.

GS got a run back in its half on Blackburn’s RBI groundout. However, Shaughnessy greeted freshman Michael Hester (Evans/Greenbrier) – the first collegiate batter Hester faced – with a solo home run to centerfield for a 7-1 lead. Hamlet hit a solo homer to start the fifth.

Jeremiah Parker lined a one-out single in the fifth. Wirnsberger lined a RBI double down the left field line, cutting the deficit to 8-2. The BC Eagles added a run in the sixth and threatened for more. Justin Davis (Pulaski/Metter) walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but the redshirt-freshman got two straight out on a fielder’s choice to end the frame.

The Eagles got two runs back in the sixth. King lined a RBI single then Parker delivered a sacrifice fly, making it a 9-4 game. Shaughnessy hit his third homer of the game in the seventh inning. Parker hit his second sacrifice fly of the game during the eighth inning. However, with runners on the corners the Eagles could not push another run across. King and Shehan delivered RBI singles in the ninth inning for the final margin.

Eubanks (0-1) was charged for six runs in three innings, but the senior left-hander struck out five. King, Shehan and Pierce added three hits apiece while Parker and Wirnsberger had two each. Pierce hit a pair of doubles and three in all on the day.

Dan Houston (1-0) gave up four runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Shaughnessy tallied four RBI and Barry Butera drove in three runs.

Game three of the series concludes Sunday afternoon, first pitch at J.I. Clements Stadium is scheduled for noon. Video streaming will be available for paying members to Eagle Vision. The game will also be carried on the radio live at Eagle 102.9 FM and on the www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com website.

Category: Baseball

Published on Saturday, 23 February 2008 00:08