CHARLESTON, S.C. – Georgia Southern Baseball withstood a late charge and posted two runs in the ninth to defeat The Citadel 7-5 on Wednesday night in the Holy City. The Eagles led 5-1 early, but runs from The Citadel in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings tied it at 5-5. The visitors got RBIs from Ryan Cleveland and Hunter Thomas in the ninth to go ahead while Logan Baldwin made his first pitching appearance in more than a year to take the save.

Georgia Southern improves to 23-15, posting a new high-water mark entering a three-game weekend series against Little Rock. Friday's first pitch is set for 7 p.m. on Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night. All Georgia Southern faculty and staff will get free tickets and can purchase companion seats for just $5.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"It was a hard-fought win on the road tonight. I was really proud of the guys for hanging in there. We led most of the game and hand chances to extend the lead, but we didn't get that done. The guys kept battling and kept competing. Logan Baldwin gave us a big lift there in the end finishing the game out."

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Logan Baldwin
2-for-5 // 1R // 1.0 IP // 0H // 0R // 1K // SAVE
Logan Baldwin got things done on two fronts for the Eagles in the 7-5 win. Offensively he went 2-for-5, lacing a ninth inning single up the middle to advance the go-ahead run to second. He later scored in the ninth to provide an insurance run. After Chris Brown got into some trouble in the bottom of the ninth, Baldwin was called in from centerfield to pitch. He fanned one to take his first collegiate save.

CRITICAL MOMENTS
TOP 1ST – Georgia Southern opened the night with a pair of runs. Evan McDonald worked a leadoff walk and came in to score with two outs when Ryan Cleveland doubled to left. Jordan Wren followed suit with an RBI single.
TOP 2ND – The Eagles got the bases loaded with no outs in the third and tacked on a run sacrifice fly by Evan McDonald. That, however, was all the Eagles would get in the frame, stranding two runners aboard to end the inning.
BOTTOM 3RD – The Bulldogs chased starting pitcher Adam Kelly from the game in the third, getting two runners aboard while a third walked to load the bases. A double play helped the situation, but it came with no outs and The Citadel's first run of the game scored to make it a 3-1 game.
TOP 4TH – Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Evan McDonald. The Eagle shortstop singled to right, scoring Kent Rollins. The next batter, Kent Rollins delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Matt Anderson and make it a 5-1 game.
BOTOM 6TH – Two walks to open the sixth opened the door for The Citadel to score a run and make it a 5-2 game. A double down the line by William Kinney plated the run for the home side.
BOTTOM 7TH – The Citadel got two runs in the seventh, taking advantage of a walk and a hit batter. A slow infield ground out scored the first run of the inning while a bleeder to center plated the second and made it a 5-4 game with seven innings in the books.
BOTTOM 8TH – The Citadel got back to even terms in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to short center. Logan Baldwin threw a strike to cut the runner down at the dish, but the slide eluded the tag by the narrowest of margins, evening the game at 5-5.
TOP 9TH – A leadoff walk to Cal Baker and a single by Logan Baldwin up the middle put ducks on the pond for Ryan Cleveland. The junior first baseman hit a single through the right side to drive in Baker. Hunter Thomas plated another run with a chopper to first, sending Baldwin home.
BOTTOM 9TH – Chris Brown hit the leadoff batter and threw a ball to his second batter before Logan Baldwin was called in to get the final three outs. A walk to Windham (which was charged against Brown's account due to the 1-0 count when the move was made) put runners at first and second. A fielder's choice put runners on the corners, but Baldwin struck out a pinch hitter to get the second out. A ground ball to second ended the game and cemented the Eagle victory.

NOTES
- Georgia Southern has won four-straight games and reaches a new high-water mark at eight games above the .500 mark.
- Nine pitchers combined in the effort on the designated staff day. Chris Brown earned his fourth win of the season to go to 4-2 while Logan Baldwin tossed his first collegiate save.
- Baldwin made his first appearance on the bump since March 25, 2015 when he went three innings in relief against Jacksonville. That was his only other appearance for the Eagles on the rubber, instead starting 74 games over the last two seasons in centerfield.

UP NEXT
Georgia Southern opens a three-game Sun Belt series this weekend against Little Rock. The Eagles and Trojans begin their series on Friday night at 7 p.m. with game two scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday. The series final is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.

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