Eagles Shutout Phoenix, 4-0, to Take Series
4/11/2010 9:04:00 PM | Baseball
ELON, N.C. – Georgia Southern held the Elon Phoenix scoreless on Sunday afternoon (April 11), taking a 4-0 Southern Conference win and series with them from Latham Park. The series win marked the first for Georgia Southern over Elon since 2005 when the Eagles took 2-of-3 contests and only the second series since the Phoenix joined the SoCon in 2004. The shutout was the first for Elon in Southern Conference play since joining the league.
Georgia Southern improved to 17-15 overall this season and 9-6 in SoCon play, while Elon dropped to 21-12, 9-6.
“Matt [Murray] had a great effort for us yesterday and Dexter [Bobo] showed a great performance out of the bullpen for us,” said head coach Rodney Hennon. “Andy [Moye] was on the top of his game today. He was in control of all his pitches today and was able to throw them for strikes in critical situations.”
Andy Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) recorded his fourth win of the season throwing seven flawless innings. The junior only allowed three hits while striking out eight batters. Phoenix starter Jared Kernodle took the loss, falling to 3-1 on the year, after allowing three runs (two earned) in six innings on seven hits. Elon distributed the remaining three innings amongst three relievers who combined to give up one run and three hits.
The middle infield led the GS offense with Eric Phillips (Carollton, Ga.) going 3-for-4 with a solo home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.) finished 2-for-4.
Justin Hilt, Mike Melillo, Ryan Adams and Niko Fraser were the only Phoenix to garner a hit in the contest as Elon was limited to four singles.
The Eagles were able to manufacture a 1-0 lead without the use of a hit in the opening frame when Phoenix starter Kernodle loaded the bases on two hit batsmen and a walk. Phillips' sacrifice fly to right field plated Bowles from third as GS struck first.
A sacrifice fly from Kyle Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) in the fifth inning pushed Georgia Southern's lead out to 2-0 when it plated Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.) who reached second on a single to the pitcher and throwing error from Kernodle. Bowles singled through the right side to put Owens on third setting up Blackburn's sacrifice fly that followed.
In the sixth inning, Phillips launched a solo blast to left field on a 0-1 pitch to cushion the Eagles' lead to 3-0. The home run marked the second of the season for Phillips.
Only two were stranded on base for Elon before the seventh inning when the Phoenix reached third base for the first time of the contest. But Elon was unable to produce a run when Moye recorded two strikeouts and a fly out to end the inning after walking the leadoff batter.
An RBI single from Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) in the eighth inning extended GS's lead to 4-0. With Burruss standing on second, Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) successfully completed the hit-and-run lining a single through the right side that scored Burruss from third with one out. The Eagles used three hits in the eighth to push their lead out to four runs.
Justin Hess (Panama City, Fla.) took over the contest in the bottom of the eighth after Moye worked seven complete, shutting down the Phoenix with only three hits. Elon only reached base five times against the junior and touched third base only once.
Hess worked 0.2 innings before being relieved by Colin Snow (Alpharetta, Ga.) with one runner on and two outs. Snow closed out the inning striking out Hilt.
Elon brought the tying run to the plate twice in the bottom of the ninth inning, but were unable to produce a run. The Phoenix put a runner on first when Melillo singled through the left side with one out. Bobo then delivered a free pass to Adams, putting runners on first and second, before Neal Pritchard was hit which loaded the bases. Matt Hinson flied out to shallow center field for the second out that held all runners in position before Scott Riddle flied out in the next at-bat to right field to close the game.
Georgia Southern closed out this six-game road swing and returns to J.I. Clements Stadium on Tuesday, April 13 welcoming Jacksonville for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
Post-game Notes
-Georgia Southern took 2-of-3 contests from Elon to mark on the second series won by GS since Elon joined the Southern Conference in 2004. The last series win dated back to 2005 when the Eagles took 2-of-3. The only other recorded series win was in 2004 when GS swept the Phoenix.
-With today's shutout, the Eagles now have two on the year which is the first time Georgia Southern has two or more shutouts in a season since 2006.
-Elon had never been shutout in league competition before today.
