STATESBORO – The Georgia Southern baseball team defeated the RedHawks of Miami (OH) 4-3 at J.I. Clements Stadium on Friday night to take a 1-0 lead in the weekend series.
Both the Eagles and RedHawks starting pitchers put on a clinic, as neither team would drive home any runs during the first four and a half innings. In the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles would get on the board first, as
Jarrett Brown would score an unearned run as the Miami second baseman dropped a fly ball, taking a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Georgia Southern would add on to its lead, as a Brown single would plate
Austin Thompson, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
JP Tighe would then score on a wild pitch, bringing the lead to 3-0 Eagles as the sixth frame ended.
The RedHawks would cut into the deficit in the top of the seventh when Stephen Krause would score Chistian Tejada on of a groundout, getting the RedHawks on the board. In the top of the eighth, a Cole Andrews groundout would score JJ Woolwine, cutting the Eagles' lead to one run, 3-2.
In the bottom of the eighth,
Christian Avant would reach first on a bunt, which would score an insurance run from
Blake Evans. The Eagles led 4-2 after the eighth. The RedHawks would score one run in the top of the ninth, but
Jay Thompson would shut down the comeback attempt, which gave the Eagles a 4-3 win.
GS SCORING MOMENTS
BOTTOM 5th | M-OH 0 – GS 1 | Jason Swan reached on a dropped fly,
Jarrett Brown scored, unearned.
BOTTOM 6th | M-OH 0 – GS 2 | Jarrett Brown singled to right field, RBI,
Austin Thompson scored.
BOTTOM 6th | M-OH 0 – GS 3 | Jarrett Brown advanced to second on a wild pitch,
JP Tighe scored, unearned.
BOTTOM 8th | M-OH 2 – GS 4 | Christian Avant singled to first, bunt, RBI,
Blake Evans scored, unearned.
QUICK HITS
- Three Eagles combined for 11 strikeouts on the night. Starter Jaylen Paden recorded six, Thomas Higgins recorded four and Jay Thompson recorded one.
- Paden recorded the win, tossing 5 ⅓ innings of shutout ball.
- Jarrett Brown was the only Eagle to have a multi-hit game on Friday night.
- The overall series with the RedHawks is now tied at 2-2.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will go for the series win on Saturday at J.I. Clements Stadium, with the first pitch set for 2 p.m. Saturday's game is also Bark in the Park, where fans are encouraged to bring their four-legged friends.