STATESBORO – Georgia Southern Baseball took the series win over Arkansas State with a pair of wins on Saturday at the Friendly Confines. The Eagles took the opener 10-6 with seven unanswered over the final three trips to the plate. In game two the Eagles downed the Red Wolves 17-6 with a season-high runs scored. On Sunday the Eagles will honor five seniors before the 10 a.m. finale. First pitch on Sunday has been moved up due to storms expected later in the day.
GAME ONE
Georgia Southern took the day's first game with seven unanswered runs in its final three trips to the plate.
Austin Thompson's two run home run in the seventh inning put the Eagles on top for good when sophomore hit his fifth bomb of the year. Thompson drove in a career-high three runs in the game, helping the Eagles to return to the top spot in the Sun Belt East Division.
The Eagles opened the game with four hits in the first inning to score two runs and take an early 2-0 lead.
Jason Swan drove in a pair with a bases loaded single. Arkansas State answered immediately with four runs in the second to take a 4-2 lead.
Thompson's first RBI of the game came in the third inning when he rifled a single through the left side to plate
Mason McWhorter. The Red Wolves answered immediately again, scoring a run in the top of the fourth to push the lead back to two.
A solo home run by the Red Wolves in the sixth extended the lead to 6-3 before the Eagles started to figure out relief pitcher Chandler Coates. Georgia Southern touched ASU up for a pair of runs in the sixth off an error and back-to-back doubles from J.P. Tighe and
Mason Miller.
Blake Evans drove in the inning's second run with a squeeze bunt single.
Noah Ledford got the Eagles back on even terms at 6-6 in the seventh inning with a  two out home run. It was his 10
th bomb of the year and came on the first pitch of his trip to the plate. After a
Jason Swan single, Thompson's two-run bomb put the Eagles ahead through seven innings.
The Eagles put two runners aboard for McWhorter with a single by
Blake Evans and a
Steven Curry hit by pitch. McWhroter doubled to the gap in left to score two and add a pair of late insurance runs.
Cole Whitney threw the final three innings, retiring the final nine outs in order with four strikeouts. He improves to 4-3 on the year throwing just 26 pitches.
GAME TWO
Tyler Martin went 4-for-4 in game two with a pair of home runs to pace the Eagle offense which tallied 18 hits en route to a season-high runs haul.
Joe Nahas tossed six innings of two hit ball to improve to 1-0 on the year. The junior fanned a career-high eight batters to earn his first Division I victory.
Georgia Southern scored runs in seven of their eight trips to the plate, leaving only an open sixth frame. The bottom third of the Eagle lineup all had multiple hits in the game, and combined for a 8-for-15 game.
Christian Avant was 3-for-5,
Mason Miller was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, while
Blake Evans was 3-for-5 with two runs scored.
Three seniors who will be recognized on Sunday got an inning of work each in the waning frames.
Daniel Collins got a strikeout in the seventh, while
Tristan Roberts did not allow a hit with a strikeout in the eighth.
Lawson Humphries struck out four in the ninth inning to close out the win.
Jason Swan and
Mason McWhorter both drove in three runs in game two, helping the Eagles hand the crooked number.
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern will face Arkansas State for a third time this weekend on Sunday in the series finale. First pitch has been pushed up to 10 a.m. due to impending storms later in the day. Georgia Southern will honor five seniors prior to the game in a ceremony slated to start at 9:30 a.m.
