Eagles Take Game One Over Braves, 10-7
5/9/2010 9:25:00 PM | Baseball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Behind two home runs from junior Shawn Payne, Georgia Southern took game one of a doubleheader from Alcorn State, 10-7, Sunday afternoon (May 9). The Braves held a 5-1 lead after the fifth, but a four-run fifth inning tied the contest as GS took the lead back with Payne's first two-run shot in the sixth.
Andy Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) received the win improving to 7-3 on the year. Brave starter Collin Armold was charged with the loss throwing five innings, allowing seven runs on 10 hits.
Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.), Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.), Kyle Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) and A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) each posted two hits apiece in the win.
Game One
An infield RBI single from Blackburn put the first run on the board as GS took a 1-0 lead in the third. Jake Ware (Statesboro, Ga.), earning his second start of the season, led off with a single up the middle and moved to second on a successful hit-and-run by Bowles to set up Blackburn's RBI single.
But the Braves plated three in the fourth to take a two-run lead, 3-1. David Reed opened with a double to right field before Jake Brown (Forest Hill, Md.) forced two pop ups for two outs. But an Edgar Alvarez single to left tied the ballgame before a Cole Vicars two-run RBI triple to right gave Alcorn State its first advantage.
A two-run fifth inning extended the Braves' lead to 5-1. A pair of RBI singles from Reed and Alvin Jackson plated two runs for Alcorn State.
Leading off the bottom of the fifth, Payne reached on a walk and picked up two stolen bases thereafter allowing the junior to score on a sacrifice fly from Bowles. Following Blackburn's second infield single of the contest, Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) doubled to left center to bring the tying run to the plate in Wirnsberger. The senior drove a full count pitch up the middle scoring both Blackburn and Phillips as the Eagles cut their deficit down to one run, 5-4. Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.) tied the contest using a double down the right field line that scored Wirnsberger from first for a 5-5 contest.
Payne roped a home run to centerfield in the sixth to return the lead back to Georgia Southern, 7-5. Ware walked to leadoff and Payne cleared the bases launching a 1-0 pitch to deep center.
A run in the seventh tightened the ballgame. With two outs and a runner on third, Moye struck out Alvarez swinging, but a throwing error from Randy J. Williams (Valdosta, Ga.) to first allowed Alvarez to reach first and the run to score. Williams took the run back with an RBI single the bottom half of the frame before Payne launched his second home run of the game two batters later. Payne's two-run shot to left field gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead.
The Braves added their last run in the ninth using an RBI single up the middle from Alvarez. Charles Matthews closed out the contest working the ninth for the final 10-7.
Game two of the series will begin approximately at 4:45 p.m.
