Georgia Southern University
3-0
Bethune-Cookman
0-3
Hudgins’ Sac Fly Helps Eagles Sweep Series
2/15/2015 5:39:00 PM | Baseball
STATESBORO, Ga. – Will Hudgins' sacrifice fly in the eighth inning lifted the Georgia Southern Eagles to a 9-8 win and a series sweep of the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.
Georgia Southern (3-0) swept their first opening weekend series since the 2012 season against UT Martin and have now won five-straight opening weekend series dating back to the 2010 season.
Hudgins sent a shallow fly ball down the line in right field that was just deep enough to allow Aaron Mizell to score the go ahead run in the eighth inning.
"After they tied it up, I was proud of the way we came back and got the lead back. We had good at-bats from Mizell and Chase in that inning, and we got a fly ball out there and it was just enough to score the run," Head Coach Rodney Hennon said.
GS led 7-0 after the second inning and was up 7-1 after the sixth inning before the Wildcats scored a combined seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
Six hits and two Bethune-Cookman (0-3) errors helped the Eagles open an early lead behind starter Connor Simmons. Simmons held the Wildcats to two hits and no runs over the first four frames.
Chris Brown (1-0) picked up the win after the Eagles broke the tie in the eighth inning. Brown allowed three runs on four hits but tossed a perfect ninth inning to end the game.
"I thought we pitched well today. I was really pleased with Connor Simmons," Hennon said. "Matt Geiger did a nice job. It didn't show up in the numbers because of the sloppy play defensively."
Clint Clymer (0-1) took the loss and allowed one earned run on three hits and a walk.
Hudgins and Griffin finished with two hits each. Griffin tallied a double in the second inning and a single in the eighth for his third-straight multi-hit game. Spencer Duffie walked three times and drove in a run with a single in the second inning.
Austin Garcia and Brandon Wilkes both recorded two hits. Garcia drove in three runs on back-to-back hits in the seventh and eighth innings. Wilkes also plated a run in the four-run seventh.
The Eagles will welcome in reigning ACC Tournament Champion and NCAA Regional participant from a year ago Georgia Tech on Tuesday. First pitch against the Yellow Jackets is set for 6 p.m. The contest will air on ESPN3.
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, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brown, Chris (1-0)
L: Clint Clymer (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Jake Welch 1 ; Brandon Wilkes 1 ; Nathan Bond 1 ; Austin Garcia 1 ; Demetrius Sims 1
RBI: Brandon Wilkes 2 ; Jordan Robinson 2 ; Nathan Bond 1 ; Austin Garcia 3
SF: Brandon Wilkes 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jake Welch 2 ; Brandon Wilkes 1 ; Jordan Robinson 1 ; Nathan Bond 1 ; Zach Olszewski 1 ; Demetrius Sims 2
Batting:
2B: Griffin, Chase 1 ; Cleveland, Ryan 1
RBI: Adams, Kody 1 ; Mizell, Aaron 1 ; Griffin, Chase 1 ; Cleveland, Ryan 1 ; Hudgins, Will 1 ; Duffie, Spencer 1 ; Howard, Jordan 1 ; Rollins, Kent 1
SF: Hudgins, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Adams, Kody 1 ; Mizell, Aaron 1 ; Griffin, Chase 1 ; Hudgins, Will 1 ; Thomas, Hunter 1 ; Busby, Dalton 2 ; Duffie, Spencer 1 ; Howard, Jordan 1
SB: Thomas, Hunter 1 ; Busby, Dalton 1
CS: Rollins, Kent 1
HBP: Cleveland, Ryan 1 ; Thomas, Hunter 1
