Baseball Takes Seven-Game Win Streak to UNCG
3/27/2013 8:06:29 PM | Baseball
GAME INFORMATION
Dates: Thu.-Sat., March 28-30
Times: 6 p.m., 6 p.m., 2 p.m.
Site: Greensboro, N.C./UNCG Baseball Stadium (3,500)
TV/Video Stream: None
Play-by-Play: None; Analyst: None
Baseball Radio Network: gseagles.com/watch-listen
103.7 FM - WBMX - Metter/Statesboro
900 AM - WJLG - Savannah
1370 AM - WLOP - Jesup
Play-by-Play: Kris Draper; Analyst: Barrett Gilham
Live Stats: uncgspartans.com
Twitter Updates: @GSAthletics/@GSScores
Series: Ga. Southern leads 27-23 (50 games)
Statesboro: Ga. Southern leads 17-7
Greensboro: UNCG leads 13-6
Neutral Site: Ga. Southern leads 4-3
Unknown: No Meetings
First Meeting: 3/8/92 - Statesboro - L (10), 10-7
Last Meeting: 3/18/12 - Statesboro - W, 6-5
Last Series Win: 2012 - W, 8-3; L, 12-9; W, 6-5
Last Series Loss: 2011 - L, 3-2; L (10), 7-6; L, 8-3
Streak: Ga. Southern, 1 win
STORY LINES
After winning its seventh-straight game with an 11-4 mid-week victory over Jacksonville, #22 Georgia Southern (17-7, 8-1 SoCon) travels to UNCG (12-12, 1-5 SoCon) for a three-game Southern Conference series.
The series at UNCG Baseball Stadium opens on Thursday at 6 p.m. and concludes with a 6 p.m. game on Friday and a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday. All three games can be heard on the Georgia Southern Radio Network and coverage begins 30 minutes before first pitch.
The Eagles are tied for the fourth longest active winning streak (7) and are tied for eighth longest active home winning streak (9) in the nation.
The Eagles entered the Baseball America top-25 rankings for the first time since 1996. Georgia Southern debuted in this week’s poll ranked 22nd.
Georgia Southern won the season series a year ago in Statesboro with a 8-3 victory on Friday night and a 6-5 win on Sunday.
The Eagles now sit 10 games above .500 and have only fallen below .500 twice this season. GSU has won 13 of their last 15 games since an 11-4 loss to Xavier on March 1st.
The Eagles are 13-3 in the month of March and hold a .284 batting average and a 4.18 ERA in 16 games this month.
The Eagles hold four of the SoCon’s nine wins against ranked opponents.
Georgia Southern currently ranks 31st in RPI and is 6-4 against top-50 RPI teams this season.
Robbie Dodds leads the team with a .405 batting average and five RBIs in nine Southern Conference games this season.
Justin Hess is 3-0 with three saves and a 3.44 ERA over his last six appearances, while Matt McCall is 3-0 with two saves and 1.76 ERA over his last six appearances.
WATCH & LISTEN
All Georgia Southern home games will be video streamed on gseagles.com/watch-listen for free. The stream will carry the Georgia Southern Radio Network’s feed with long-time play-by-play voice Ryan Chambers and color commentator Kris Draper on the call.
The Radio Network will also air the entire baseball schedule on 103.7 FM in Metter/Statesboro, 900 AM in Savannah and 1370 AM in Jesup.
MID-WEEK RECAP
Georgia Southern defended their newly received ranking with an 11-4 win over Jacksonville to improve their home winning streak to nine games.
Stryker Brown tallied four of the team’s 11 hits and drove in three runs while scoring two more. Tyler Avera posted three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Matt McCall held Jacksonville to two runs - one earned - and left after the fourth inning with a 6-2 lead. McCall, making his first start since 2011, struck out seven batters and allowed just one walk and four hits.
The Eagles had their first change to the top of their lineup this season. Stryker Brown lead off for the first time this season.
QUICK HITS
Georgia Southern is off to its best start in league play since 2005. The Eagles opened Southern Conference play that season with nine-straight wins but finished 18-11 after winning just 9 of their last 20 league contests.
GSU’s pitching staff has held their opponents to four runs or less in over the last six games. The current 4.94 ERA is the lowest since a Feb. 22nd win over Indiana.
Justin Hess eclipsed the 200 career innings pitched mark over the weekend and needs just four more strikeouts to reach 200 career strikeouts.
Robbie Dodds, who started the season on the bench, is hitting a team best .364 with five doubles and two home runs over 19 games this season.
T.D. Davis has 13 hits in 22 at-bats (.591) with three home runs against left handed pitching.
Stryker Brown is five for 10 (.500) with a double and five RBIs off the bench this season.
The Eagles have recorded at least one extra base hit in every game this season.
Georgia Southern is 13-1 when scoring six or more runs and is 13-1 when allowing five runs or less.
The Eagles are 15-1 when leading after the fourth inning and 13-0 when leading after six frames.
Georgia Southern ranks 29th in total attendance (24,780) and ranks 35th in average attendance (1,548) in the nation.
In his 14th season at the helm of Georgia Southern’s program, head coach Rodney Hennon is the second winningest active coach in the SoCon.
UNCG SERIES HISTORY
Georgia Southern holds a 27-23 edge in the 50 game all-time series with UNCG.
The Eagles are 17-7 all-time at home but trail 13-6 in the series in Greensboro.
The Spartans swept GSU in their last visit to UNCG Baseball Stadium in 2011.
Head Coach Rodney Hennon holds a 28-20 mark against the Spartans over his 16 year career at Western Carolina and Georgia Southern.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
