Two Unearned Runs Put Eagles on Wrong Side of Pitchers' Duel
4/30/2011 1:50:00 AM | Baseball
GREENSBORO, N.C. - In a game where three of the five combined runs were unearned, Georgia Southern (25-17, 13-6) fell on the wrong side of a pitchers' duel, losing 3-2 to UNC Greensboro (23-17, 12-7) in the conference series opener on Friday, April 29th. Both starting pitchers had great outings and solid defensive plays to keep the combined hit total to under 10. GSU, who led five hits to the Spartans four, lost for just the second time this season when outhitting an opponent.
Warren Slack picked up the win for UNCG and improved to 5-1 on the year after allowing one earned run on five hits. He walked three batters and struck out five in 6.1 innings. Jarrett Miller closed out the final 2.2 innings for his first save of the year. Miller did not allow a hit or a run and struck out the last man he faced to end the ballgame.
Chris Beck (Jefferson, Ga.) settled down after allowing three runs, one earned, in the first three frames. Beck (6-2) went the distance in his second loss of the season, allowing four hits and four walks while striking out nine batters on 111 pitches.
The sophomore pitcher issued three of his four walks and faced 17 of his 32 batters in the first three innings. However, four of his nine punch outs came during that period and the other five came in a row during the fifth and sixth innings. Beck retired the Spartans in order over the next five innings to keep the game within reach, but just one over the minimum reached for Georgia Southern over the final three frames.
Both teams exchanged runs in the first inning with the Eagles striking first on a Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) bloop single that dropped short of the infield grass, allowing Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) to score. Burruss placed a ball into the right-center gap and got an advantageous bounce for his fourth triple of the year.
Two unearned runs for UNC Greensboro crossed the plate in the third inning to hand them its first lead of the contest, 3-1. Beck coaxed a pair of fly outs sandwiched around a double by Drew Gehringer. Eric Brindle drove in the runner after a ball bounced off the glove of the first baseman. After a balk sent Brindle to second base, Ray Crawford drove him in with a single.
Georgia Southern got a run back on a sacrifice fly by Ben Morgan (Evans, Ga.) in the fifth inning. The Eagles took advantage of a leadoff error and a walk by Tom Richardson (Lilburn, Ga.) to cut the lead to 3-2. GSU had a chance to tie the contest in the next inning, putting the first two batters on base. A fielder's choice and two strikeouts ended the threat.
Georgia Southern and UNC Greensboro will continue the three-game series on Saturday and Sunday, with a pair of 1 p.m. starts.
All games can be heard on Eagle 102.9 FM in Statesboro and are also available online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision beginning 30 minutes prior to first pitch. Ryan Chambers of the Georgia Southern Radio Network will call all the action.
Fans may follow Georgia Southern Baseball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/baseball or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates.
