STATESBORO, Ga. – Eric Nyquist tossed five scoreless innings as the Mercer Bears defeated the Georgia Southern Eagles 4-1 at J.I. Clements Stadium.

Mercer (8-5) scored three runs over the first three innings to take an early lead and held on after Georgia Southern (8-5) sent six batters to the plate in the ninth inning.

Nyquist (1-0) picked up his first win of the season and held the Eagles to two hits. The senior righthander walked two batters and struck out five in his first start of 2015.

The Bears scored twice in the second inning to take an early 2-0 lead off of starter Matt Geiger. Matt Meeder tallied the third-straight hit to plate the first run of the game, and a wild pitch two batters later scored Danny Edgeworth.

Geiger (0-1) took the loss after allowing three runs – two earned – on six hits. The freshman righthander tossed 2.2 innings and struck out three batters.

The Eagles recorded three-straight hits in the ninth inning and scored a run on a single by pinch-hitter C.J. Brazil. 

Ben Lumsden recorded the final two outs of the ninth inning to strand two runners on base and record his first save of the season. Lumsden (1) struck out Spencer Duffie and recorded a ground out to end the game.

Anthony Paesano tossed 2.1 scoreless innings to close out the ball game for GS. Paesano did not allow a hit and struck out two batters in relief.

The Georgia Southern baseball team hosts Appalachian State in a three-game series to open Sun Belt Conference play this weekend. Game times for the series are 6 p.m., 2 p.m. and 1 p.m.

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