STATESBORO, GA. - A three-RBI day from
Evan McDonald including a go-ahead two-run single from the double handed Georgia Southern a series win over Middle Tennessee in an 8-5 win on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles took the final two games of the series and tallied 11 hits in Sunday's win to close the weekend on a high. Next up for the Eagles is a Tuesday night visit from No. 21 Georgia Tech. First pitch for the non-conference battle is 6 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium.
McDonald went 1-for-5 and reached four times with three RBIs to close the series. His two-RBI single with one out in the seventh put the Eagles ahead for good and helped the cause in a four run frame. Freshman
Mitchell Golden and Senior
Ryan Cleveland each drove in a run in the inning as the Eagles claimed the series win.
"I was proud of our team," said Head Coach
Rodney Hennon. "I thought we did a good job as a team of bouncing back after a tough one on opening night. We've had a lot of guys step up in the bullpen over the last couple of games. To me that was the difference in the game. Chase (Cohen) gave us a good effort, but he ran out of gas there and he gutted out the last inning there. All our guys; Ramsey, Paesano, Goldstein, Kelly and Simmons all stepped up and that's big for our team going forward."
Cleveland went 2-for-3 on the day with two RBIs to cap a 5-for-9 weekend which included three doubles, seven RBIs, five walks and a stolen base. Golden went 3-for-4 on the day as he moved to the No. 2 spot in the lineup for the first time this season.
"Offensively we did a good job of loosening up and swinging the bats better as the weekend went," added Hennon. "We had some more opportunities today and we still left some runs out there so we've got some things to work on with men in scoring position, but overall it was a good team win."
The Eagles got the scoring started early, posting three runs in the second inning. A bases loaded single by
Logan Baldwin plated a run while an infield ground ball by McDonald sent a second home. Cleveland's sacrifice fly to right with the bases loaded handed the hometown team a 3-0 lead.
Middle Tennessee got a bead on starting pitcher
Chase Cohen in the fourth, tagging him for four runs, three earned off five hits in the fourth inning. The sophomore didn't return for the fifth, exiting with a no decision and six strikeouts in his first outing of 2017.
Trailing by a run in the fourth, Georgia Southern punished Middle Tennessee for a leadoff walk, brining Golden around to score with a sacrifice fly from
Tyler Martin to level the score at 4-4.
An Austin Dennis double, followed by a single up the middle gave Middle Tennessee a 5-4 lead in the middle of the fifth, setting the table for Georgia Southern's big frame in the seventh.
Freshman
Eric Goldstein earned the win in his debut for the Eagles, pitching a one-hit top of the seventh that included a strikeout.
Connor Simmons, the winning pitcher from Saturday night's victory, claimed the save, working an inning and a third, allowing a hit with a strikeout on just 10 pitches.
Next up for the Eagles is a midweek clash with the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech. Tuesday night's tilt starts at 6 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN3 with radio coverage on the Georgia Southern Sports Network.
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