Baseball | 5/18/2016 9:45:00 AM

GAME NOTES // UPCOMING PROMOTIONS // SOUTHERN VS. STATE RIVALRY SERIES

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Baseball closes out the 2016 regular season with a three game series against Georgia State. The Panthers come to J.I. Clements Stadium for three games beginning on Thursday night at 7 p.m. First Responders Night is set for Friday night at 7 p.m. The regular season concludes on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. Senior Day Game.
Next up for the Eagles is the 2016 Sun Belt Championships in San Marcos, Texas. The Eagles have clinched their spot in the postseason and can finish between third and seventh in the final regular season standings. Georgia Southern enters the final weekend of the regular season in a three way tie for fifth in the league standings.

TEAM RECORDS
Georgia Southern – 31-22 (14-13 Sun Belt)
Georgia State – 23-29 (9-18 Sun Belt)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
THURSDAY (5.19.16)
2 p.m. – J.I. Clements Stadium (Statesboro, Ga.)
WORKDAY WORK PERK - Bring your business card to the ballpark and receive $8.00 general admission (gameday only at the gate).
RADIO – Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO – GS All-Access (Premium)
LIVE STATS
GS – Evan Challenge (LHP)
GAST – Wayne Wagers (LHP)

FRIDAY (5.20.16)
7 p.m. – J.I. Clements Stadium (Statesboro, Ga.)
FIRST RESPONDERS NIGHT - Firemen, police officers, and EMS receive free admission and their family can receive discount $5 general admission tickets.
RADIO – Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO – GS All-Access (Premium)
LIVE STATS
GS – Chase Cohen (RHP)
GAST – TBA

SATURDAY (5.21.16)
1 p.m. – J.I. Clements Stadium (Statesboro, Ga.)
SENIOR DAY - Come support your seniors during their final game at J.I. Clements Stadium.
RADIO – Ga. Southern Sports Network
VIDEO – GS All-Access (Premium)
LIVE STATS
GS – Brian Eichhorn (RHP)
GAST - TBA

QUICK HITS
• Georgia Southern took one of three against Clemson last weekend and returns home to close the regular season against in-state rival Georgia State. The Eagles won the regular season series last year, but fell in the opening game of the Sun Belt Tournament to the Panthers. Southern leads the all-time series 58-17 and has won seven of the last 10.
• Georgia Southern ranks third nationally in sacrifice bunts with 66 this season. CJ Brazil ranks eighth in the nation with 14 this season, while Evan McDonald is 15th with 13.
• Georgia Southern has clinched its spot in the 2016 Sun Belt Tournament entering the final weekend of league play. The Eagles are in a three-way tie for fifth place and could finish anywhere between third and seventh. Georgia State is on the outside looking in, needing at least two wins to earn a spot in San Marcos.
• For Georgia Southern, the magic number is six. The Eagles are 20-2 this season when scoring six or more runs. Over the past five season the Eagles are a combined 112-19 including 31 wins in 2014.

CLEVELAND ROCKS!!!
• Ryan Cleveland has had a resurgent second half of the season, clubbing seven home runs in the last 19 games to take the lead in the Sun Belt.
• He is hitting .303 on the year despite 65 strikeouts while ranking second in the SBC with a .617 slugging percentage.
• With a team-best 15 game hit streak under his belt this season, Cleveland also posted a 37 game reached base streak which spanned March 5th (second game of Memphis series) and May 7th (second game of South Alabama series).

FOUR EAGLES EARN THEIR DEGREES
• One day after the close of the South Alabama series, four Eagles were awarded their degrees in a special commencement ceremony, officiated by interim president Dr. Jean Bartels.
• Ryan Frederick, Drew Kelley, Kent Rollins and Hunter Thomas each graduated with a GPA over 3.0 and received the Athletic Foundation's Academic Excellence Ring for their achievement.

IN THE CLASSROOM
• The Georgia Southern baseball team posted a 3.25 GPA in the fall semester, its highest semester GPA in program history.
• 28 of the Eagles were on the honor roll with 12 on the Dean's List and 3 on the President's List.

EAGLES PARTNER WITH VS. CANCER FOUNDATION
• Georgia Southern hosted its second Vs. Cancer Day on April 3rd, raising funds and awareness for the Vs. Cancer Foundation to help combat children's cancer.
• The Eagles surpassed their goal of raising $8,000 for the foundation by gathering more than $11,000.
• Fans can still join the fight at http://team.vs-cancer.org/georgiasouthern

EAGLES IN THE PROS
CHRIS BECK (2010-12) // AAA // Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox)
Chris made his major league debut on May 28, 2015 with the White Sox at Baltimore. He earned his first win of 2016 on 4/20, going six against Norfolk. He is 3-2 in 2016 in seven appearances.
MATT MURRAY (2009-11) // AAA // Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals)
Matt is currently on the restricted list while he serves a suspension.
VICTOR ROACHE (2010-12) // AA // Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers)
Victor is hitting .247 this year with three-hit games on 4/19 and 4/20.
ERIC ALONZO (2014) // A // Burlington Bees (Los Angeles Angels)
Eric opened his season with eight relief appearances and 22.2 innings without allowing an earned run. He is 1-0 ont he season with a 0.70 ERA and 31 strikeouts.
JOSH WIRSU (2014) // ADV-A // Palm Beach Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals)
Has pitched three times in relief this season, most recently on April 27, going 1.0 innings against Bradenton.
SAM HOWARD (2012-14) // ADV-A // Modesto Nuts (Colorado Rockies)
Sam is 2-1 this year in seven starts, fanning 40 batters. He went seven innings with 10 Ks against San Jose on May 13th.
AARON MIZELL (2014-15) // A // Quad City River Bandits (Houston Astros)
Aaron is currently hitting .223 in 28 games this season with a .631 OPS, tagging 11 extra base hits.
JASON RICHMAN (2013-15) // AA // Frisco RoughRiders (Texas Rangers)
After playing two games at A Hickory, Jason was called to the Frisco RoughRiders on May 12th. He has pitched twice for the AA team, working a pair of no-hit innings.

COMING UP NEXT
Georgia Southern Baseball will travel to the 2016 Sun Belt Championships, hosted by Texas State. The 2016 Championships begin on Wednesday morning at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas.

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.