Baseball | 3/10/2016 8:00:00 AM

GAME NOTES | UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Baseball opens league play this weekend with three games at Appalachian State. The series opener is set for 6 p.m. on Friday night with ensuing games at 3 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Georgia Southern Sports Network from Learfield Sports will provide live coverage of the game barring any conflicts with Eagle Basketball at the Sun Belt Tournament.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
FRIDAY (3.11.16)
4 p.m. – Jim & Bettie Smith Stadium (Boone, N.C.)
RADIO – Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO – None
LIVE STATS
GS - LHP – Evan Challenger
APP STATE - LHP – Bobby Hampton

SATURDAY (3.12.16)
3 p.m. – Jim & Bettie Smith Stadium (Boone, N.C.)
RADIO – Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO – None
LIVE STATS
GS - RHP – Chase Cohen
APP STATE - RHP – Seth Hardin

SUNDAY (3.12.16)
1 p.m. – Jim & Bettie Smith Stadium (Boone, N.C.)
RADIO – Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO – None
LIVE STATS
GS - RHP – Brian Eichhorn
APP STATE - LHP – Colin Schmid

QUICK HITS
• League play opens on Friday night as the Eagles visit Appalachian State. The Eagles hosted the Mountaineers last year to open Sun Belt play and took all three games including the opener and finale in walk-off fashion.
• Speaking of walk-offs, Georgia Southern defeated Kennesaw State on Tuesday night with the highly uncommon walk-off balk. Logan Hutchinson entered the game with no outs and runners on the corners in the 12th. Before throwing his first pitch, he turned for a pickoff attempt and faked the throw, plating Eric Furphy for the winning run.
• Georgia Southern leads Appalachian State 61-20 including four-straight wins. That streak began after the Mountaineers handed the Eagles a loss in the opening day of the 2014 SoCon Tournament, forcing the Eagles to go through the consolation bracket to win the title and reach the NCAA Tournament.
• Tuesday's win over Kennesaw State was the Eagles' third extra innings contest of the year and the longest game between the Owls and Eagles in series history at 12 innings. It was also the longest of the season by time, clocking in at 4:50, besting the 16-inning lost to Georgia Tech by five minutes.

ANOTHER LONG NIGHT AT THE OFFICE
• Tuesday's win over Kennesaw State was a rather sloppy affair with eight combined errors and seven wild pitches by the Owls.
• Georgia Southern stole seven bases in the game (a season high) behind a career-high three by first baseman Ryan Cleveland.
• Anthony Paesano earned his first collegiate win by pitching a third of an inning in the 12th and getting the Eagles out of a jam.

TICKETS
Eagle Baseball tickets can be purchased immediately by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets and following the path to the baseball portal. Fans can also call 1-800-GSU-WINS during normal business hours or visit the Georgia Southern Athletics Ticket Office in the Cowart Building on Lanier Drive adjacent to Paulson Stadium.

COMING UP NEXT
The Eagles will have Monday off before visiting Mercer on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. Georgia Southern is back home next weekend for a three-game set against Troy.

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. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.