ATHENS, GA. – Georgia Southern got an outstanding debut pitching performance from Chase Cohen, but ultimately it was the extra innings hitting of Ryan Cleveland that gave the Eagles a 5-3 win over Georgia. Cohen threw five innings of one-hit ball, but saw a three-run advantage evaporate in the seventh inning. The bullpen, however, stopped the bleeding and forced extra innings. Cleveland blasted a two-out, full count pitch to center for the game winner.

WORDS FROM THE SKIPPER
"I was really proud of our guys, it was a great team win," said head coach Rodney Hennon. "Chase Cohen did a nice job in his first start and set a nice tone out of the gate. We kinda hurt ourselves there with the hit batsmen and walks to let them back in it. I was happy that we played pitch-to-pitch and Cleveland got the big knock in the 10th."

CO-PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Chase Cohen – RHP – FR – Alpharetta, Ga.
Freshman Chase Cohen was outstanding in his collegiate debut, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning and allowing just one hit in his 5.0 innings of work. He struck out seven batters and walked one, but did not factor in the decision after the Bulldogs tied the game in the seventh.

Ryan Cleveland – 1B – JR – Toccoa, Ga.
Ryan Cleveland went 2-for-4 on the day with three RBIs including the winning runs on his two-run home run in the 10th. The junior hit his 17th career home run on Saturday.

CRUCIAL MOMENTS
TOP 3RD – CJ Ballard sparked a two-run third inning with a one-out triple down the line in right. An RBI single by Kent Rollins put the Eagles on the board while Ryan Cleveland drove in Jordan Wren with two outs. Those runs gave the Eagles an early 2-0 lead.
BOTTOM 5TH – Georgia ended Cohen's no-hit bid when Michael Curry was awarded a single following what looked like a diving catch by Logan Baldwin in center. The call was overturned, but a 6-4-3 double play erased the base runner.
TOP 5TH – Georgia helped to gift the Eagles a run and make the lead 3-0 midway through the sixth. Ryan Cleveland took a pitch off his leg and made his way to third thanks to consecutive wild pitches. CJ Brazil drove him in with a sac fly to right.
BOTTOM 7TH – Georgia evened the score with a three-run frame in the seventh. A leadoff walk paved the way for Keegan McGovern to crush a home run off the scoreboard in right. A walk to the next batter came around to score via some small ball by the Bulldogs.
BOTTOM 9TH – Chris Brown gave up a leadoff walk and hit a batter to open the ninth inning. After a sacrifice bunt, UGA loaded the bases with an intentional walk. Brown, however got a line out to right and a pop up to the catcher to end the threat and send the game to extra innings.
TOP 10TH – CJ Ballard opened the extra frame with a single, but was cut down at third on Kent Rollins' sacrifice bunt attempt. Ryan Cleveland, however, did the damage with a big fly to center. The two-run home run scored Rollins and staked the Eagles to a 5-3 lead.

NOTES
- Freshman Chase Cohen was outstanding in his collegiate debut, needing just 69 pitches to fan seven and hold the Bulldogs to one hit in five innings.
- Left fielder CJ Ballard was 3-for-5 on the day and is now hitting 5-for-9 in the series to lead the Eagle offense from his leadoff slot.
- Chris Brown earned the win with 2.1 innings of relief work where he allowed just two hits and no runs despite a pair of walks. It was his first win in his last seven appearances dating back to April 24, 2015.
- The Eagles are now 1-0 in extra innings this season. The last time Georgia Southern had a game go beyond its advertised distance was May 16, 2015 at Georgia State in a 3-2 win.
- Saturday's win means the Eagles have not lost back-to-back games to Georgia since the revival of the series in 2013. Georgia Southern is 8-3 since 2013 against the Bulldogs with three series wins.

NEXT GAME
The Eagles and Bulldogs wrap-up the three game series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Brian Eichhorn will go for Georgia Southern as the visitors look to salvage the series win. Watch the game on the SEC Network + at WatchESPN.com or listen live on the Georgia Southern Sports Network. Danny Reed will be back in the booth to close out the series alongside Kris Draper.

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