BOX SCORE

STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Baseball dropped a 4-2 decision on Friday night to Elon to open a three game series on Jack Stallings Field at J.I. Clements Stadium. The starting pitchers were outstanding for both teams with Brian Eichhorn allowing just two runs over six innings of work. Elon's George Kirby also allowed two runs over his six innings, but earned the win with 11 strikeouts. The same two teams are back on the diamond on Friday at Noon.

Elon's Robbie Welhaf closed the game out by retiring the final nine outs on strikes for his first save of the year. The Eagles fanned 20 times in the game, their highest total since March 20, 2015 when the Eagles stuck out 21 times against Arkansas State.

SCORING PLAYS
Top 6th - Elon got a single and a walk to start the sixth inning off Brian Eichhorn, setting the table for cleanup hitter James Venuto to double in the right field gap, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Bottom 6th - Georgia Southern answered back in the home half of the sixth with singles from Steven Curry and Mitchell Golden. Mason McWhorter doubled down the left field line, plating Curry and moving Golden to third. Later in the inning, Christian Avant flied out to left, but the ball was not deep enough to score Golden who initially broke from third to draw the throw. The relay throw was cut off by the shortstop who tried to catch Golden off base at second, allowing Golden to scamper home and tie the game at 2-2.
Top 7th - After a strikeout by relief pitcher Braxton Johns to retire the first out of the inning, back-to-back doubles plated a run and re-took the lead at 3-2.
Top 8th - Elon tacked on another run in the eighth thanks to two errors on one play by the Eagles. The run made it a 4-2 advantage by the Phoneix.

NOTES
- Brian Eichhorn went six innings to log his second quality start of the season, allowing two runs off six hits. The junior struck out seven batters and walked two while throwing 98 pitches.
- Chandler Corley led the Eagles at the plate with a pair of hits.
- All 11 batters with a plate appearance for the Eagles struck out at least once with the Eagles striking out 20 times in the contest. It was Georgia Southern's largest strikeout total since March 20, 2015 against Arkansas State.

UP NEXT
Georgia Southern and Elon are back at it on Saturday at Noon for game two of the series. The game can be seen live on True Blue TV with audio coverage available exclusively on GSEagles.com.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides current information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, which is fully responsive across all mobile devices. Information on Eagle athletics can also be found through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics and Instagram.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.

In order to expedite entry and provide a safe environment for all patrons and participants, Georgia Southern Athletics has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all ticketed sporting events, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Fans can find the complete policy as well as an FAQ section at GSEagles.com/ClearBag.