STATESBORO, GA. - Georgia Southern Baseball defeated South Alabama 8-5 to close St. Patrick's Day 2017, and opened Sun Belt play on a winning note. The Eagles trailed 5-2 through four innings, but got a pair of runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings to improve to 1-0 in league play. Georgia Southern and South Alabama are back at it on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"I liked the way we played tonight. We made some mistakes early, but our guys kept battling today. Jacob Condra-Bogan came in at a critical moment of the game and kept us in the ballgame. I felt like we made some big defensive plays tonight. Mitchell Golden made a great play at third to save a run and Logan Baldwin made a throw to get a guy at the plate."

CRUICIAL MOMENTS
Top 2nd - USA 1, GS 0 - South Alabama got a run in the second by cashing in on a Georgia Southern error. A sacrifice fly to left plated the run to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
Bot 3rd - USA 1, GS 2 - The Eagles bit back in the third with a pair of runs. A single by C.J. Brazil opened the frame and small ball moved him on to second. Mitchell Golden's RBI single that took a hop over the USA shortstop plated the first run, while a single through the right side of the infield gave the Eagles their first lead of the day.
Top 4th - USA 5, GS 2 - Four hits and a walk to start the fourth inning ended Evan Challenger's day on the mound. The Jaguars would plate four runs off five hits in the frame to post a 5-2 lead. Challenger left after 3.1 innings, allowing five runs, four earned off eight hits.
Bot 5th - USA 5, GS 4 - The rally started in the fifth inning following Mitchell Golden's leadoff single. A Ryan Cleveland double sent Golden home. After a ground out to the pitcher moved the Eagle first baseman over to third, Jordan Wren stepped up with a clutch two strike sacrifice fly which sent Cleveland home.
Bot 7th - USA 5, GS 6 - The dreaded leadoff walk came good for the Eagles in the seventh. A ground out around an intentional walk to Cleveland brought Wren up two outs. The senior right fielder sprayed a fly ball to left which was misplayed by the South Alabama outfielder, bringing two runs home for a 6-5 Georgia Southern advantage.
Bot 8th - USA 5, GS 8 - The Eagles manufactured another run, using a hit and run to move C.J. Brazil to third after his one out walk. A balk plated Brazil from third and moved Evan McDonald to second following the senior's hit. Steven Curry laced a two strike single to left to plate McDonald and add a third insurance run for the Eagle bullpen.

GAME NOTES
- Four Eagle batters had multi-hit games, with Steven Curry (2), Mitchell Golden (3), Ryan Cleveland (2) and C.J. Brazil (2) posting big days at the plate.
- Ryan Cleveland extended his hit streak to 10-straight games. He is hitting .388 (14-of-36) over the last 10 games.
- After Challenger's exit in the fourth, the Eagle bullpen closed ranks and did not allow any more runs on their accounts. Jacob Condra-Bogan tossed 3.2 innings of four-hit ball with three strikeouts. Connor Simmons worked a clean six pitch eighth inning while Landon Hughes closed things out with a nine pitch ninth which included a strikeout to end the game. Hughes earned his first save of the season, while Condra-Bogan picked up his first win in an Eagle uniform.

NEXT UP
Georgia Southern and South Alabama continue the three game series with a Saturday evening contest in Statesboro. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN3 from Jack Stallings Field at J.I. Clements Stadium. Fans who show a picture of the scoreboard at the Schenkel Invitational can purchase special discounted tickets for the game.

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