STATESBORO, Ga. ? Georgia Southern University set a NCAA record for all Divisions hitting 14 home runs in a 26-8 win over Columbia Saturday afternoon (March 15) at J.I. Clements Stadium.
In all 12 different Eagles hit a home run. The 16 combined home runs between the two teams tie for second-most in NCAA Division I history according to the 2008 NCAA Record Book, while the five homers hit in the eighth inning (in six at-bats and all coming with two outs) tied for seventh-most for a single frame in Division I history.
The previous Division I record was 13 home runs on two different occasions (Alabama in 1999 and Cal State Northridge in 1996). The Division II record is 12 home runs while the Division III record is 13 homers.
Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) and Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) both recorded their second career 2-home run game. Benedict recorded his first multi-home run game against Boston College on February 24 while Shehan accomplished his four days ago against USC Upstate.
Roman Grimaldi (Duluth/Duluth), David Richardson (Dahlonega/Lumpkin County) and Chris Banker (Martinez/Lakeside) hit consecutive pinch-hit homers in the eighth, the first home run of the season for all three.
Earlier in the frame Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) and Jake Ware (Statesboro/Statesboro) went back-to-back as all five of those home runs came during a six at-bat stretch.
Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) and Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) went back-to-back in the second inning, two of the three solo homers hit that frame to give Georgia Southern the lead for good.
Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) and Shehan hit consecutive blasts in the fifth. During the seventh, Shehan and A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) each hit a 2-run HR then Benedict added a solo shot later in the frame.
Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) celebrated his 21st birthday Saturday hitting a 3-run shot in the third, the second home run of his career, which extended the Eagles lead to 7-3 at the time. Georgia Southern scored in every inning save for a 1-2-3 sixth inning.
In last night's 8-5 loss to Columbia, the Eagles did not manage a hit after the third inning. During Saturday's win, they banged out 21 hits ? 15 more than the previous night.
“I think the biggest thing I am proud of is how we bounced back. I thought we took some good swings and certainly conditions with the wind were right for it today as well. I was pleased with how our guys off the bench performed. They came in ready to play and took good swings at the plate,” said head coach Rodney Hennon. “We tried to focus on preparing to play today, going out and playing as well as we can. We wanted to put last night's game behind us. Our guys did a good job of doing exactly that.”
Drew Murray (LaGrange/LaGrange) allowed five runs on 11 hits in six innings. The junior right-hander (1-0) walked one and struck out five. Burt Barto (Columbus/Columbus) pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits.
Shehan finished with four hits, tied a career-high with four runs scored and drove in three. Wright had two hits and scored three runs. Wirnsberger also matched his career-high of three runs scored. Benedict tallied three hits, equaled a career-high three runs scored and drove in two. Pierce also had a 2-hit game to go with his two runs scored and three RBI.
Columbia registered a season-high 18 hits. Noah Cooper had four hits and Jason Banos had three, including a 2-run homer. Alex Ferrera hit a 2-run homer to start the third inning.
Joe Scarlata (0-3) was charged for 11 runs (10 earned) on 11 hits in 4.2 innings. Jason Gustavson allowed eight unearned runs on seven hits over the final 1.2 innings.
The series continues Sunday afternoon (March 16), first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
