STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Eagles return to Southern Conference play this weekend at The Citadel. The Eagles will play their third road conference series of the year at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, S.C. 

GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES (21-10, 4-5 SoCon) 
THE CITADEL BULLDOGS (13-17, 1-8 SoCon) 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday-Sunday, April 4-6
Time: 6 p.m., 2 p.m., 1 p.m. 
Site: Charleston, S.C./Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park
Rankings: None
Coaches: GSU - Rodney Hennon (603-390-1), CIT - Fred Jordan (759-585)
TV/Video Stream: www.citadelsports.com
Radio: Georgia Southern Radio Network/GS All-Access
Twitter: @GSAthletics, @GSAthletics_BSB
Facebook: facebook.com/GSAthletics
Live Stats: www.citadelsports.com
Last 10: Ga. Southern 4-6; The Citadel 5-5
Series Record: Ga. Southern leads 43-38

Big Story: The Georgia Southern Eagles are looking to bounce back after being shut out for a third time this season. After tallying 19 hits and 13 runs in a win over Jacksonville on Tuesday, Georgia Southern recorded just two hits and no runs in a 3-0 loss to Kennesaw State on Wednesday. The Eagles are looking to snap a six-SoCon road series losing streak at The Citadel this weekend. The Bulldogs are themselves looking to get on track in conference play after opening the year 1-8. The Citadel was swept by Davidson in the conference's opening weekend, dropped two of three to Samford before being swept on the road at Elon last weekend. The Bulldogs reached the SoCon Tournament's championship game a year ago and will host the 2014 SoCon Tournament at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park this season. 

Series History: Georgia Southern holds a 43-38 edge in the 81 game all-time series with The Citadel Bulldogs, but Citadel swept the season series a year ago - 11-0, 1-0 (11 innings), 8-2 - and have won five of the last seven meetings. The Eagles split with the Bulldogs in 2012, dropping the season series but winning 8-1 in the SoCon Tournament at Greenville's Fluor Field. The series win for the Eagles came in 2011 in Statesboro. GSU swept all three meetings before going on to win the Southern Conference Tournament on the Bulldogs' home field, Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The Eagles are 10-16 all-time at Riley Park in the series. 

Team Scope
Ga. Southern: Georgia Southern is just 4-6 on the road this season with two of those wins coming in the opening weekend at Georgia. The Eagles have lost six straight Southern Conference series on the road, two this season, dating back to March 15-17 at Samford. GSU dropped the series opener to the Bulldogs 6-2, but bounced back with an 18-14 win on Saturday and took the series finale behind reliever Kyle Rowe 6-3. GSU's first two road trips in SoCon play have seen the Eagles outscore their opponents 18-16. The Eagles continue to lead the nation in home runs and are atop the SoCon with a .313 batting average. The pitching staff's 3.00 ERA ranks second in the league behind only Elon's 2.61 ERA.

The Citadel: The Citadel has also had their struggles in Southern Conference play and are just 1-8 after the first three weekends. The Bulldogs were selected to finish second in the league in both the Coaches and Media Preseason Poll but currently sit in 10th place after dropping series to Davidson, Samford and Elon. The Citadel will be looking to get back in the win column at home, where they are 11-6 this season, after playing their last four games on the road. The Bulldogs have won two-straight games and three of their last four at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Who's Hot: Garrett Chapman leads the Eagles with 13 multi-hit games and is hitting a team-best .393 in Southern Conference play this season. Chapman had two hits, a home run and drew a walk in Tuesday's 13-5 win over Jacksonville. ... Bo Thompson is an even .500, 8 for 16, over the last four games and went two for four in The Citadel's 3-2 win over Coastal Carolina on Tuesday. 

Connection Junction: Former West Florence High School teammates will meet up this weekend. Garrett Chapman will face his former teammate Zach McKay when Georgia Southern squares off with The Citadel. Other connections between the two teams are Stephens County products - Ryan Cleveland and Matt Hill - Eagles from South Carolina - Robbie Dodds, Garrett Chapman and Wes Williams - and Bulldogs from Georgia - Mason Davis and Matt Hill. 

On The Bump    
Friday, April 4
LHP Sam Howard (3-3, 1.25) vs. LHP Logan Cribb (1-4, 6.50)

Saturday, April 5
RHP Josh Wirsu (5-2, 3.58) vs. RHP Austin Livingston (1-3, 8.18)

Sunday, April 6
RHP Ryan Frederick (3-0, 3.60) vs. RHP Austin Mason (1-1, 5.49)

THE CITADEL SERIES AT A GLANCE
Overall: 43-38
Home: 23-16
Away: 10-16
Neutral: 8-5
Unknown: 2-1
Hennon vs Opponent: 24-30
Streak: L3
First Meeting: 1961, Unknown, L 3-2
Last Meeting: 4/14/13, Statesboro, L 8-2
Last 10 Meetings: 5-5

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. To purchase tickets call 1-800-GSU-WINS.