Eagle Baseball Leading the Nation in Hitting

STATESBORO, Ga. – The first NCAA national rankings were made public Wednesday and Georgia Southern Baseball found itself ranked at or near the top in several offensive categories. The Eagles will bring a 14-8 overall record and 3-0 mark in Southern Conference play to the College of Charleston this weekend.

First pitch on Friday (March 28) is scheduled for 6 p.m. with a 1 p.m. start on Saturday and Sunday at Patriots Point. Fans can listen to every Georgia Southern game on Eagle 102.9 FM or via the internet at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.

Georgia Southern leads the nation in batting average (.359) and home runs (2.32 p/g) while also entering this week second in scoring (11.1 runs) and slugging percentage (.633).

Georgia Southern is proving there is no easy out in its line-up. The projected starting line-up for this weekend has nine starters batting .289 or better. As impressive as the early season numbers have been, head coach Rodney Hennon is encouraged to see how many different players have contributed.

“The thing on offense that has been most pleasing is that we have a lot of guys contribute at different times and that’s meant a lot to our team. We can’t get caught up in the numbers right now. We just have to stay focused and bring a good approach to the ballpark everyday and try to find ways to win ball games, regardless if it’s 3-2 or 10-9. Finding ways to win, that’s our main focus.”

Junior outfielder Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg), the two-time reigning SoCon ‘Player of the Week’, stands fifth nationally in runs scored (1.5 p/g) and RBI (1.68) while his team-leading .898 slugging percentage and .466 batting average rank seventh and 16th, respectively. Last weekend he extended his hitting streak to a season-high 10 games. Shehan’s nine home runs is the seventh-highest total in the nation.

Fellow junior Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry), who had his team season-high 15-game hitting streak snapped in the Western Carolina finale, stands 89th nationally hitting at a .413 clip.

Senior second baseman Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) has stolen 11-of-13 bases, good for 38th nationally. He brings a .329 batting average into this weekend, more than 80 points higher than last season.

A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) also ranks among the national leaders in various offensive categories. The sophomore third baseman is 52nd in runs scored (26), 51st in home runs (6), 43rd in RBI (27) and 16th in hit by pitches (9). Wirnsberger has also walked (10) and been hit by a pitch (9) more times this year than he has struck out (7).

Junior Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr’s Mill) recorded two of his three saves this season during the Western Carolina series. He is tied for 49th nationally in that category. Senior Aaron Eubanks (Moultrie/Colquitt County) leads the staff with three wins, two off the national lead.

According Hennon, “Both teams are playing with confidence right now and have momentum coming in. We both got off to a good start the first weekend and it’s going to be a very competitive series. I think we are going to have to play good sound, fundamental baseball and bring a good aggressive approach to the ballpark each day in all phases. Not just offensively, but on the mound as well and focus on the things we can control - our approach and how hard we play”.

This weekend’s match-up with the Cougars will showcase two of the top offensive teams in the country. Charleston (16-7 prior to Wednesday night’s game at South Carolina, 3-0 SoCon) is third in team batting average (.357), first in scoring (12.5 rpg), first in doubles (3.26 p/g), second in home runs (2.3 p/g) and first in slugging percentage (.643).

Charleston, the preseason pick to win the regular season, won three at Davidson last weekend including a 31-3 margin in the series opener. The trio of Gabe Marchant (37), Jeremie Tice (34) and Michael Harrington (32) have accounted for 103 of the team’s 288 runs scored, entering this week first, second and fourth, respectively, in the nation.

Category: Baseball

Published on Wednesday, 26 March 2008 00:05