STATESBORO, GA. - A six run first inning sparked a 14-7 Georgia Southern win over College of Charleston on Wednesday night on Jack Stallings Field at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles scored early and often as they tamed the Cougars for the third-straight contest and evened the all-time series at 31-31. Freshman
Seth Shuman tossed five innings of two-hit shutout ball to pick up his first collegiate win in his first start for the Eagle Baseball team.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"It was good to see us bust loose offensively tonight.
Steven Curry set the tone for us with a leadoff double right out of the gate. It was good to see us swing the bats and be aggressive offensively.
Seth Shuman gave us a good effort on the mound. Sometimes when you get a big lead like that you worry about a guy losing focus, but Seth did a good job of filling up the strike zone and we played pretty sound defense behind him."
CRUICIAL MOMENTS
Bot 1st - GS 6 - COFC 0 - Georgia Southern tallied its first runs in the first inning this season with a six-spot in the opening frame. The Eagles batted around with
Steven Curry getting a double and a single in the frame.
Bot 2nd - GS 8 - COFC 0 -
Roury Glanton and
Logan Baldwin drove in runs in the second to push the lead to 8-0.
Bot 3rd - GS 10 - COFC 0 -
Ryan Cleveland's first home run of the year, a two-run job to the power alley in right, pushed Georgia Southern into double digit runs for the third consecutive game against the College of Charleston.
Bot 5th - GS 13 - COFC 0 - After an open frame in the fourth, the Eagles added another field goal in the fifth. RBIs from
Mason McWhorter,
C.J. Brazil and
Jordan Wren accounted for the three runs off four hits in the inning.
Top 6th - GS 13 - COFC 3 - A three-run home run from Danny Wondrach, his first of the season, got the Cougars off the mark with one out in the sixth inning. Two walks from relief pitcher
Zach Strickland helped College of Charleston put runners aboard in the inning.
Bot 6th - GS 14 - COFC 3 - Curry logged his third hit of the game and second RBI in the game with a single up the middle to plate Baldwin and add the extra point on a 14-3 Eagle lead.
Top 8th - GS 14 - COFC 4 - Luke Morgan doubled to the gap in right to plate Charleston's fourth run of the game in the eighth inning.
Top 9th - GS 14 - COFC 7 - A walk and two hits loaded the bases for the College of Charleston in the ninth with no outs. A hit batter and a single up the middle plated two runs as the Cougars cut the lead to just seven.
Lawson Humphries worked out of the jam, notching three strikeouts in his inning of work.
GAME NOTES
- Freshman second baseman
Steven Curry set a new career high with four hits in the game, opening the contest with a double in the first inning. The top three hitters went a combined 10-for-17 on the night.
- Georgia Southern, who had been outscored 10-0 in the first inning of the season's first seven games, posted six runs in the first inning to give starting pitcher
Seth Shuman an early lead.
-
Seth Shuman made his first collegiate start on the diamond on Wednesday, working five innings while allowing just two hits. He fanned two and walked two to pick up his first win.
- Georgia Southern's haul of 14 runs was their highest total since scoring 13 on Little Rock in the opener of the 2016 Sun Belt Tournament on May 25th, 2016.
NEXT UP
Georgia Southern sets out on the road for the first time this season, traveling to Memphis for a three game set this weekend. The series starts on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. (ET) at FedEx Field. Frank Sulkowski will be along to call the series on the Georgia Southern Sports Network. The Memphis Tiger Network at GoTigersGo.com will have premium video broadcasts of all three games.
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