STATESBORO, Ga. - Former Eagle Justin Hess is set to continue his baseball career in the professional ranks after signing a free agent contract with the Houston Astros.

Hess joined the Astros on July 28th after wrapping up summer school and earning his degree from Georgia Southern University.

Hess finished his career at GSU with a 14-12 record and a 4.34 ERA. He allowed less than 100 walks over 71 games and 39 starts while striking out 277 batters. This past season, Hess went 5-6 with four saves and a 3.69 ERA in 13 starts and 23 games.

Hess joins 10 other former Eagles in professional baseball with eight also continuing their playing careers in the minor leagues.

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.