PHOTO GALLERY | BOX SCORE

STATESBORO - Georgia Southern Baseball took a 5-4 win on Saturday to avoid the series sweep against Coastal Carolina behind strong work from Chase Cohen on the mound and a five run fifth inning. Cohen made his first start of the year, going seven strong innings and allowing just one run with eight strikeouts. The offense did all its damage in the fifth inning to salvage the game and improve to 6-3 in league play, retaining second place in the East Division.

The Eagles are at home this week for a Tuesday night game against The Citadel and a Wednesday evening battle with Mercer. Both games start at 6 p.m., get your tickets by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.

After the game, members of the Georgia Southern Baseball program gathered to shave their heads in support of the Vs. Cancer Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The team has been raising money for the foundation over recent weeks, culminating with Saturday's Vs. Cancer Game. A young boy who is battling cancer threw out the first pitch and was the honored guest of Eagle Baseball on Saturday. To join in the fight against childhood cancer, visit http://team.curethekids.org/gsbaseball2018.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"Chase Cohen was really good for us today. He really stepped up for us after a tough first two games of the series. That was big, he set the tone for us today and we were fortunate to get some two out hits from Mitchell Golden and Mason McWhorter to get things rolling and it led to a five run inning."

SCORING SUMMARY
Top 2nd - A leadoff walk to start the second inning was converted to a run with a single to right that moved Sponseller first to third, and a sacrifice bunt that drove in the run, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead. After the run, Chase Cohen settled down, retiring the next 13 batters in order.
Bottom 5th - The Eagles batted around in the fifth inning, taking a 5-1 lead in the process. After a Blake Simmons infield single, back-to-back infield ground balls retired the lead runner. Mitchell Golden tied the game with an RBI single off the Blue Monster, setting the table for a Mason McWhorter double that put the Eagles on top. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases, followed by a four pitch walk to Christian Avant that made the lead 3-1. Pinch hitter Noah Searcy singled to left, driving in two and giving the Eagles a commanding lead with Cohen dealing on the mound.
Top 8th - Cohen exited after seven, bringing in Cole Whitney. The junior transfer gave up a solo home run to the leadoff batter as Coastal cut the lead to 5-2.
Top 9th - Another leadoff home run in the ninth made it a two-run game, while a double put another runner in scoring position with no outs. After a wild pitch and a walk put runners on the corners, a ground out to third made it a 5-4 game with one out. Braxton Johns came in and got a pop up to third with a runner on second for the game's penultimate out. Hayden Harris was summoned from the bullpen for a lefty-lefty matchup and dismissed Zach Biermann for the game's final out with a strikeout looking.

NOTES
- Chase Cohen made his first start of the season on the mound Saturday, returning to the weekend rotation for the first time since May 27th in the Sun Belt Tournament. He worked seven innings, scattering five hits and allowing just one run. He fanned eight batters and was two pitches off a career-high, tossing 118 offerings.
- Hayden Harris got his second attempt at a save this season, atoning for a blown save on February 18th at Georgia with a strikeout to leave the tying run at second base. It was the first converted save attempt for Harris who had a shaky start to the 2018 season.
- Mitchell Golden's triple in the fifth inning was his first career three-bagger. He drove in a run on the play and scored later in the inning on Mason McWhorter's double.
- Christian Avant had a day, going 2-for-3 with an RBI on a bases loaded walk in the fifth.

NEXT GAME
Georgia Southern will play a pair of midweek non-conference games against The Citadel and Mercer this week. Both games start at 6 p.m. with The Citadel coming to town on Tuesday night, while the Mercer Bears make the trip down I-16 on Wednesday.

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.