STATESBORO – Ben Johnson's superb pitching performance helped lead the Eagles to a 9-0 win over the East Tennessee State Buccaneers on Saturday at J.I. Clements Stadium, clinching the second-straight series for the Eagles this season.
Action started in the bottom of the second inning when a groundout to ETSU's shortstop scored
Noah Ledford, giving the Eagles (4-2) the early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Georgia Southern would break the game wide open with four more runs, highlighted by a
Sam Blancato two-RBI single to left field to take a big 5-0 lead on the day.
The Eagles would immediately apply pressure to the Buccaneers (2-4) and plate four more in the bottom of the sixth inning, starting off with a
Jarrett Brown lead-off triple to begin the bottom of the sixth inning, and was eventually plated by a groundout by Blancato. After a
Kyler Hultgren RBI-single scored
Zane Faulk, the inning was highlighted by a two-RBI triple by
Blake Evans, the first triple of his collegiate career.
Ben Johnson had a career performance on Saturday, where he dealt for seven innings of scoreless baseball, only giving up a single hit and sitting down nine total ETSU batters in 84 pitches. Johnson was also extremely efficient, facing only three batters in six of his seven innings on the mound.
QUICK HITS
- The Eagles clinched its second-straight series to open up the season.
- Georgia Southern now owns a nine-game win streak over ETSU dating back to 2003.
- Georgia Southern had its third sellout in six games, announcing a crowd of 3122 on hand to watch the game.
- Blake Evans led the Eagles offensively with a 3-for-3 day, with all three of his hits begin extra base hits, two doubles and a triple. Evans also batted in three runners on the day.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will go for the series sweep in the final game against ETSU on Sunday, Feb. 26. First pitch from J.I. Clements Stadium is set for 1 p.m., with Bark in the Park being the marquee promotion for the game.
