GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES (1-2)
at #28 GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (3-0)
Tuesday, February 26 ? 4 p.m. ? Atlanta, GA (Russ Chandler Stadium)
Wednesday, February 27 ? 4 p.m. ? 4 p.m. ? Atlanta, GA (Russ Chandler Stadium)
All-Time Series: Tech leads 74-25
Last Year: Georgia Southern split series 2-2
Radio: Every Georgia Southern baseball game will be carried live on the Georgia Southern Radio Network, 102.9 FM. Ryan Chambers will call the play-by-play duties throughout the season.
ATTENDANCE RECORD TO START THE YEAR: Georgia Southern set a three-game attendance record at J.I. Clements Stadium. For Saturday's doubleheader opener 2,217 came to watch the Eagles, the third-largest crowd in J.I. Clements history. GS followed with 1,702 in the nightcap and 1,784 during Sunday's finale. The 5,703 in attendance throughout the weekend shattered the previous three-game best of 4,438 last year against Southern Conference rival College of Charleston... All three figures during the BC series ranked among the ?Top 10' single-game attendance marks.
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS: Georgia Tech outscored Youngstown State 20-1 during its three-game sweep at Russ Chandler Stadium... Luke Murton batted .600 (6-for-10) in the series, scoring three runs while driving in two... Tony Flagman was 3-for-9 with four runs and shared the team lead with three RBI... Jay Dantzler also knocked in three runs while accounting for one of the team's two homers... Eight different Yellow Jacket pitchers combined to hold Youngstown State to just one run on 18 hits (17 singles and one double)... Tech fanned 24 Penguins to only five walks allowed... Defensively, Tech committed four errors but turned four double plays.
ON DECK: Georgia Southern returns to J.I. Clements Stadium this weekend, playing host to Towson. The three-game series begins Friday night (Feb. 29) at 7 p.m.
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON is in his ninth year in charge of Eagle baseball. During the previous eight seasons, he guided the Eagles to no worse than a second place Southern Conference finish five times and won the regular season twice. When GS finished a sweep of New Jersey Tech (17-2), Hennon recorded his 350th career victory. While at Georgia Southern, Hennon has accumulated a 296-193 (.605) record, including a stellar 149-82 (.645) mark in SoCon play. In 10 years as a head coach, he owns a 377-231-1 (.620) overall record. In fact, when he captured his 100th career victory with an 18-5 triumph over Wofford on April 8, 2000, he accomplished a most-notable achievement by reaching the 100-win milestone quicker than any other coach in league history... The two-time SoCon ?Coach of the Year' has guided the Eagles to three NCAA Regional appearances... The Eagles advanced to the tournament championship game four times in Hennon's tenure... During the 2001 Regionals, the Eagles defeated No. 9 Georgia for their first postseason win since 1996.
MILLER CHALKS UP TWO MORE RECORDS: Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) has thrived in his return to the leadoff spot, last done his freshman campaign. Miller added two more Georgia Southern single-game records to his resume in the Boston College finale... Miller knocked three doubles and scored five runs during the 18-6 win. The junior centerfielder is now one of four current Eagles and several in program history to hit three doubles in a game. The last time an Eagle scored five runs in a game was Mike Economos during the 2007 season-opener in Hawai'i. Miller tallied 11 total bases, and it was Economos during the Hawai'i opener when an Eagle last reached double-digits in that category... Last year Miller matched the single-game walks record (4 at The Citadel)... For the third time in his career, and first since 2006, Miller finished with a 5-hit game. Dating back to Saturday's nightcap against BC, Miller will take a streak of six straight base hits into the Georgia Tech opener.
KING OF THE DIAMOND: Junior Jonathan King (Athens, TN/McMinn County/Young Harris) made an impressive debut, three multi-hit games and errorless ball in left field. He batted .467 on the weekend, team-leading seven hits in 15 at-bats. King added four runs scored, four RBI and an outfield assist.
BENEDICT SHOWS POWER SURGE: Junior catcher Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) showed a power display during the Boston College finale. Benedict recorded the first 2-home run game of his career, finishing with a career-high five RBI in the process. He had only hit seven homers during his first two years as an Eagle with a career-high three RBI on three occasions.
WALK THIS WAY: Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) started the Boston College series 5-for-10 with three RBI. So the BC pitchers did not want to deal with Shehan on Sunday. The Eagles' right fielder walked a career-high three times and finished the series 6-for-11 (.545) with four runs scored and three RBI. He made four putouts.
THE HITS CARRY OVER: A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) ended last year on a five-game hitting streak. After batting .357 on the weekend against Boston College, the sophomore third baseman extended his hitting streak to a new personal-high eight games... Wirnsberger drove in four runs and scored once.
NEW FACES ON THE MOUND: For those who attended the Boston College series, a roster of the Georgia Southern players came in handy. Eight pitchers made their debut for the Eagles during the three-game series... Freshman Trent Franzago (Byron/Peach County) came on in relief but suffered the game one loss, throwing 1.2 innings... During game two freshman Michael Hester (Evans/Greenbrier) struck out two in 2.1 innings. Redshirt-freshmen Justin Davis (Pulaksi/Metter) and Ryan Steidl (Randolph, N.J./Morris Knolls) closed out the game, throwing 1.0 and 2.2 innings, respectively... Redshirt-freshman Andy Moye (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) started the finale. He allowed two runs in five innings. Sophomore A.J. Gilbert (Marietta/Kell) made his collegiate debut after missing the last two years with injuries. True freshmen Tony Chisman (Conyers/Salem) and Dave Rigdon (Cincinnati, OH/Elder) combined for 1.1 innings.
WELCOME BACK TO THE MOUND: Redshirt-freshman Andy Moye successfully returned from last year's Tommy John surgery and earned the start in game three. Moye gave up two hits (one being a 2-run HR), walked one and struck out four in five innings of work. He threw 85 pitches and faced just three batters over the minimum in that span. The former 10th-round draft pick walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, but would eventually pick him off first base and then struck out the other two batters in the first inning.
ONE NATION: Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr's Mill) pitched only 18 innings during his first two years as an Eagle, 11 coming last year. The junior right-hander matched his career-high of 2.1 innings closing out game one. He scattered two hits, walked two and struck out three while not allowing a run to cross home plate.
STATESBORO BLUES: Redshirt-freshman Jake Ware (Statesboro/Statesboro) saw action in all three games, including his first collegiate start at second base in game two. The walk-on recorded an error in his first fielding attempt but the runner did not score. Ware recorded his first hit during his second at-bat.
STRANDED ON THE PATHS: Georgia Southern did a better job during Sunday's win of not stranding runners. Throughout the three-game series against Boston College, the Eagles stranded 34 runners - including 16 in the nightcap of the doubleheader on Saturday... Boston College stranded 31 runners of its own throughout the series.
BATS ARE ALIVE: Despite the stranded base runners, Georgia Southern managed three consecutive 10-plus hit games to start the year. The Eagles banged out 11, 18 and 16 hits, respectively, throughout the three-game set against Boston College.
TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM: Georgia Southern recorded five sacrifice flies throughout the series, three courtesy of Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton). The Eagles had only 21 through all of last year.
