STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern baseball fell 6-2 in 10 innings to Louisiana Lafayette on Friday night to open a three-game set at J.I. Clements Stadium. After spotting the Ragin' Cajuns two early runs, Georgia Southern answered with two in the fifth to level the game at 2-2. The Eagles stranded five runners over the final four innings of regulation play. The same two teams are back at it on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. with the "Bark in the Park" night. Fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to the game for a special night at the friendly confines.

Evan Challenger went six strong innings scattering five hits and allowing two runs to take the just his second no decision of the year. He struck out seven and walked three on the night
 
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"Both starters gave their teams strong efforts tonight, and that was to be expected going in. On a Friday night there isn't much margin for error. Harrington make a great throw from right field – it was a great play for them to cut down the go-ahead run. We made some mistakes late that don't show up in the box score that hurt us. When you do that a good team is going to take advantage of it, and that's what happened tonight. We have to pick ourselves up and come back and play good baseball tomorrow."  
 
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
Top 1^st – Even Challenger started the game off strong for Georgia Southern, striking out the first two batters for UL Lafayette, before allowing a batter to reach scoring position. An RBI double to left field plated the run, allowing The Ragin' Cajuns to post an early 1-0 lead.
Top 5^th – The Eagles kept UL Lafayette scoreless over the next three innings, but the Ragin' Cajuns tallied another run in the fifth on a single up the middle, putting them up 2-0.
Bottom 5^th – Lead-off batter Logan Baldwin opened the door for the first Eagle run, putting the ball into play with a double to right field. Will Hudgins' RBI groundout later in the inning plated Baldwin, before a wild pitch sent Kent Rollins home, tying the score 2-2 heading into the sixth frame.
Top 10^th – UL Lafayette secured the 6-2 win in the extra frame, scoring four runs on four hits in the inning. A safety squeeze down the first base line left the Eagles with no play on the runner headed home. A double to left center and a two-RBI single followed, plating three more runs for the visitors.  
 
NOTES
- Georgia Southern falls to 17-13 on the year and 6-7 in Sun Belt play. UL Lafayette improves to 20-10 on the year and 9-4.
- The Eagles are now 1-3 against ranked opponents with UL Lafayette occupying No. 26 in the NCBWA poll.
 
NEXT GAME
The Eagles continue the series against the Ragin' Cajuns Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Saturday's game is "Bark in the Park" night with fans encouraged to bring their dogs to the ballpark. Fans can watch the game on GS All-Access on GSEagles.com or listen live on Georgia Southern Sports Network.
 
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