ATHENS, GA. – Georgia Southern Baseball dropped the season opener, 4-1 at Georgia. A leadoff walk in the third and a long home run in the sixth did the damage for the Bulldogs. The Eagles mounted a late rally, scratching a run in the eighth and leaving two runners aboard in the frame. Georgia Southern and Georgia will return to Foley Field on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. for game two of the three-game set.

WORDS FROM THE SKIPPER
"Robert Tyler was really good for them and we really didn't pressure them defensively," said Head Coach Rodney Hennon. "We were able to pressure them a few times late and we had the tying run on base in the eighth, but we couldn't get it done. It was a very clean game defensively for both teams and Evan Challenger pitched pretty well. A leadoff walk and a mistake hurt him, but Landon Hughes did a great job out of the bullpen. Really, we've just got to come out and be better tomorrow."

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Landon Hughes – RHP – JR – Marietta, Ga.
Hughes came on for Evan Challenger down four in the sixth and recorded the next nine outs in order with a strikeout. The transfer junior made his Georgia Southern debut and successfully held the Bulldogs at bay down the stretch.

THE PLAY THAT WON THE GAME
The Bulldogs played small ball in the third inning to take the lead. A leadoff walk to Webb, followed by a single by Sullivan put two runners aboard. Moody bunted to advance the runners, while an infield ground out by King and a single by Webber plated the game's first two runs.

NOTES
- CJ Brazil showed he has good speed for a catcher, beating out the season's first base hit and stealing a base in the third.
- Georgia's Robert Tyler, a preseason All-American, struck out 13 Georgia Southern batters in his five innings of work. He earned the win after losing the first game of the series last year.
- CJ Ballard beat out a pair of bunt singles on back-to-back at bats in the sixth and eighth innings. His first was a surprise squeeze attempt while the second was a perfectly placed sacrifice job that the defense had no chance at.
- The Eagles struck out 18 total times on the night, that was the most since May 12, 2015 when the Eagles were retired 19 times on strikes at home against Kennesaw State.

NEXT GAME
Game two of the three-game set is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The radio call of the game can be heard on the Georgia Southern Sports Network with Kris Draper on the call. The series concludes on Sunday at 1 p.m. in a game that can be seen on SEC Network + at WatchESPN.com

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