Eagles Drop Sun Belt Tournament Opener to South Alabama, 5-3

Wednesday, May 23

Lafayette, La.

10 a.m. (ET)

Georgia Southern University

29-25

South Alabama

31-23

Georgia Southern

South Alabama

Eagles Drop Sun Belt Tournament Opener to South Alabama, 5-3

5/23/2018 1:34:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Georgia Southern returns to the field on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. (CT) / 10 a.m. (ET)

LAFAYETTE, LA. - Georgia Southern Baseball fell, 5-3 to South Alabama on Wednesday night to open the second day of the 2018 Sun Belt Baseball Tournament. The Eagles out-hit the Jaguars 10-6, but walked six batters to fall to the elimination bracket. Game two of the postseason is set for Thursday morning at 9 a.m. (CT) / 10 a.m. (ET).

CRUCIAL MOMENTS
Top 1st - The Eagles jumped out to a quick 1-0 advantage in the first inning behind three-straight singles. Austin Thompson's single drove in Jason Swan and extended his team-best hit streak to 10 games.
Bottom 1st - The Eagles got two outs from the first three South Alabama batters, but the Jags managed to load the bases later in the inning. A single up the middle plated one run, while a walk gave the designated home team a 2-1 lead.
Top 2nd - Steven Curry walked with one out in the second, moving up to third on a Nolan Tressler single and a wild pitch. Jason Sawn lofted a sacrifice fly to center, driving in Curry to tie the game at 2-2.
Bottom 2nd - South Alabama knocked in a pair with a two out double in the second, doubling their lead to 4-2 after two frames.
Top 3rd - Thompson started the third frame with a single up the middle, stealing second to get into scoring position. Tyler Martin dumped a double down the right field line, plating Thompson and slicing the Jaguar lead to 4-3.
Bottom 8th - The Jags got things going in the eighth with a hit batter and a single to right to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch allowed a run to score, but the Eagles got out of the inning with a double play where Christian Avant threw a runner out at third.

GAME NOTES
- The Eagles out-hit South Alabama 10-6, but six walks hurt the cause for the Eagles. South Alabama stranded eight runners while the Eagles left seven aboard.
- Seven of the nine Eagle hitters logged hits on Wednesday morning with Austin Thompson, Tyler Martin and Nolan Tressler each posting a pair of hits.
- Starting pitcher Chase Cohen went four and a third innings, allowing four South Alabama runs. He allowed five hits and six walks while striking out five. He was handed the loss to fall to 5-5.
- Cole Whitney threw three and two thirds out of the bullpen, allowing one run and one hit while striking out two.

UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will face either UT Arlington or Coastal Carolina in the first game of Day Three of the Sun Belt Tournament in an elimination game. First pitch will go at 9 a.m. (CT) / 10 a.m. (ET) live on ESPN+.

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