Baseball Plays Host to Davidson This Weekend
4/17/2009 12:16:00 AM | Baseball
STATESBORO, Ga. ? The 27th-ranked Georgia Southern Baseball Eagles continue a five-game homestand, playing host to Davidson. The three-game series begins Friday night (April 17), first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday is slated for 2:30 p.m. and a 1:30 p.m. start on Sunday.
Every baseball game can be heard on the Georgia Southern Radio Network, flagship station Eagle 102.9 FM in Statesboro, and via the internet at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. Ryan Chambers will call the game and the broadcast will begin 30 minutes before first pitch.
After seeing another game against North Florida cancelled on Tuesday, the Eagles rallied for a 4-2 win Wednesday night against Jacksonville to kick off the stretch at J.I. Clements Stadium. Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) knocked in the eventual game-winning runs thanks to a 2-run single in the seventh inning. Andy Moye (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) pitched seven strong innings and Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine) earned his sixth save.
Senior catcher Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) extended his hitting streak to 13 games. He also extended his national-lead getting hit by a pitch for the 17th time this year. Benedict stands third in the league batting .413 with 32 runs scored and team-leading 33 RBI. His .538 on-base percentage ranks him 12th nationally. In the latest rankings by Rivals.com, Benedict is listed as the second-best catcher in the country. He played in his 200th career game on Wednesday. Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) joined him reaching that milestone, entering this weekend
Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC) is next batting .366 with a team-high 40 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts. He's tied for the team-lead drawing 23 walks. He saw his career-high 16-game hitting streak come to an end against Jacksonville. Jonathan King (Athens, TN/Young Harris) is tied with Wright drawing 23 walks. The senior outfielder ranks 24th nationally in walks per game.
Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) is close behind batting at a .336 clip. He leads the team hitting two triples while scoring 36 runs and driving in 23. Bowles' 11 doubles lead the Eagles, and he ranks 34th nationally in toughest to strike out (six Ks in 102 at-bats). Eric Phillips (Carrollton/Carrollton) entered the week 91st nationally in toughest to strike out (eight Ks in 94 at-bats). The freshman infielder owns a .319 batting average with 22 runs scored and 25 RBI.
Kamppi is tied for third in the SoCon making 19 appearances (3.33 ERA in 24.1 innings). He entered the week 51st nationally in saves.
Junior Chris Mederos (Valdosta/Gordon College) is scheduled to start Friday night. He is 7-0 with a 4.86 ERA, striking out a SoCon-leading 56 batters in 46.1 innings. Mederos is tied for fourth nationally in wins and 36th in strikeouts per nine innings. Fellow junior transfer Jake Brown (Forest Hill, MD/Pitt CC) will make his second weekend start. Brown owns a 2-3 record and 5.18 ERA in 40 innings, striking out 29 to 10 walks. He matched a season-high of seven innings pitched but suffered the loss at Western Carolina. Freshman Matt Murray (Spring City, PA/Owen Roberts) is scheduled to start Sunday. Murray brings a 2-2 record and 5.06 ERA through 37.1 innings. He started the Western Carolina finale and earned the win.
Georgia Southern enters the weekend posting a .312 team batting average, Southern Conference-leading .976 fielding percentage (11th nationally) and 4.94 ERA. Last year the Eagles took 2-of-3 from the Wildcats at Davidson.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the Southern Conference this year is Davidson (13-17, 8-7). Picked to finish last in the preseason poll, Davidson currently stands sixth. Matt Webb owns a 3-0 record and three saves, posting a team-leading 2.73 ERA (.200 opponent batting average). Zach Kayne leads the hitting attack at a .381 clip, well above the team's .274 batting average. Kayne's 14 doubles and 27 RBI lead the way. Chase FitzPatrick has nine home runs, 31 runs scored and 25 RBI. Davidson owns a 6.49 team ERA and .953 fielding percentage.
TWO MORE RESCHEDULED: Georgia Southern head coach Rodney Hennon announced that two of the four games lost due to weather have been made up. The Eagles will now play a doubleheader at Kennesaw State on April 29. North Florida will travel to J.I. Clements Stadium on May 13 to try and make up the game lost on March 31 at home.
