Elon Forces If Necessary Game with 11-4 Victory
5/25/2013 10:22:00 PM | Baseball
GREENVILLE, S.C. - No. 3 seed Elon topped No. 7 seed Georgia Southern 11-4 on Saturday at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Fluor Field, forcing a decisive second game between the squads for the right to play in Sunday's title game against The Citadel.
Elon (30-28) had to beat Georgia Southern (27-31) to stave off elimination and force a second game between the teams. The Phoenix and Eagles will now play what is essentially the second half a doubleheader for the right to play the Bulldogs (35-24) in the championship game on Sunday.
The Phoenix erased Georgia Southern's 4-1 lead with a 6-spot in the sixth inning to seize the lead and control of the game. Elon would add four more runs over the next two innings to put the game out of reach.
In the decisive sixth, Elon batted around and pounded out six hits. Alex Swim's two-run double put the Phoenix ahead for the first time on the day, while Sebastian Gomez added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-4.
Three more runs followed in the seventh, highlighted by Danny Lynch's two-run double, while Elon added its last run when Gomez scored on a groundout in the eighth to make it 11-4.
Georgia Southern was in control early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on T.D. Davis' RBI single and Tyler Avera's bases-loaded walk.
Elon got a run back on Chris Bresnahan's RBI single in the second, but the Eagles countered it with Stryker Brown's run-scoring double in the third.
GSU made it a 4-1 game in the fifth, scoring on an Elon error, before the Phoenix came roaring back in the sixth.
The teams combined for 22 hits and seven errors in the contest.
Elon reliever Ryan Pennell (2-2) earned the win, working the final five innings and allowing just one hit. GSU starter Josh Stevenson (1-5) took the loss, allowing five runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.
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