STATESBORO, GA. - Behind Evan Challenger's first career complete game shutout, Georgia Southern Baseball blanked Little Rock, 5-0 to even the weekend series at one game each. The senior lefty tossed nine innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits with seven strikeouts. Evan McDonald drove in a pair and went 2-for-4 to pace the offense as the Eagles improved to 29-15 overall and 12-8 in the Sun Belt.

The Eagles and Trojans close out the weekend series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The rubber match sees the Eagles send Chase Cohen to the mound while Little Rock counters with Chandler Fidel.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"We responded in a positive manner to last night's game which is what you want to see. We started with Evan Challenger and he gave us a great effort on the mound. It was really his best performance of the year and he got into a good rhythm out there. When he did get into a couple of jams, he made some big pitches in some big situations. I think we played some good defense behind him, Ryan Cleveland made some big plays at first base and Evan McDonald made a big play to get the leadoff hitter in the fifth. Offensively we did enough to get the win tonight."

SCORING PLAYS
Bot 3rd - LR 0 - GS 1 - Two singles and a hit batter in the third loaded the bases for freshman Mason McWhorter. The Eagle left fielder hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring C.J. Brazil from third base to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Bot 4th - LR 0 - GS 3 - Evan McDonald drove in two runs with a single up the middle to put the Eagles up 3-0 after four frames.
Bot 7th - LR 0 - GS 4 - Steven Curry picked up an RBI to plate Evan McDonald with one out in the seventh to push the lead to 4-0.
Bot 8th - LR 0 - GS 5 - Mason McWhorter doubled to start the eighth and came around to score off Tyler Martin's pinch hit single to third base which pushed the lead to 5-0.

GAME NOTES
- Evan Challenger went nine innings for the first time this season, posting his second complete game of the season (he went 8.0 innings at UT Arlington in a loss). Challenger improved to 2-5 on the year scattering three hits with seven strikeouts. He threw a career-high 117 pitches on the night.
- Evan McDonald led the Eagle offense with a 2-for-4 day and two RBIs. He also scored a run in the game.
- Saturday's game was the second annual Bark in the Park with fans encouraged to bring their dogs to the game. 1,133 fans attended the game with 68 canines in tow.

NEXT UP
Georgia Southern and Little Rock close out the weekend series with a 1 p.m. rubber match. The Eagles sent Chase Cohen to the bump while Little Rock calls on Chandler Fidel for the series finale. Fans can watch the game live on GS All-Access at GSEagles.com

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