Statesboro, Ga. --- The Georgia Southern Eagles (13-9, 2-3 SBC) defeated the Appalachian State Mountaineers (11-11, 3-2 SBC), 14-13, on a Nico Senese walk-off two-RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning in an instant classic in Statesboro (March 22nd).

The afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium was filled with offense. After a silent top of the first for App State, the Eagles would use back-to-back base hits to start the game to strike the board first with a lone run. In a game that saw six lead changes, App State would not take long to answer back all afternoon. The Mountaineers would go double, single, double, to start their second and plate two to take the lead. The Mountaineers would add on another run in the fourth with a homer from Kam Miller on the first pitch of the inning to make it 3-1.

For the Eagles their next at bat, a Sean Smith single and a walk would give way for Cade Parker to wake up in a big way. He would crush the first pitch he saw well over the Blue Monster in right field to snatch the lead back, 4-3. However, the top of the fifth would cause problems for the home team. A leadoff homer from the Mountaineer catcher would nod up the contest before three straight singles would load up the bases. With the bases juiced, Miller delievered his second home run of the afternoon and added four RBIs to his count to take the lead, 8-4.

One again, though, the Eagles were hot. After two singles in the fifth for Josh Tate and Smith, another silent bat suddenly woke up in Sean White, who blasted a homer to cut the deficit to just one. The very next batter, Daniel Haab fed off White's energy, mashing back-to-back home runs for the Eagles to even it up at eight all.

Southern would be the one to take back the lead this time as in the sixth, Herrholz would get a hold of a fastball and shoot a ball to right field to add on to the party and take the lead right back. Afterwards, a sac-fly from Smith and two straight wild pitches would make the count 11-8 after the sixth. 

After two straight base knocks would score one in the next half inning for the Mountaineers, the Eagles would keep their lead at three with White's second home run of the day. White would go 2-4 on the afternoon, and is the first Eagles with two homers on a game since Jarrett Brown in the Sun Belt Tournament in 2024. 

Heading into the top of the ninth, the Eagles held to a 12-9 lead. After two singles and a fielder's choice, the bases would be loaded for Graham Smiley. The App State catcher would deliver a devastating blow, now twice on the day, with a grand slam that carried out over the center field wall to silence the crowd at J.I. Clements Stadium.

In the bottom of the ninth, Parker would draw a leadoff walk before Herrholz would be hit by a pitch to give the crowd back some life. Luke Odden would lay down the bunt to advance both runners before Josh Tate would fly out to see the Eagles face their final out. Nico Senese stepped in the box, who already went 2-5 on the day, and would try to play hero. On a 2-1 pitch, Senese would scorch a line drive that just nipped the glove of the second baseman, to get into the outfield and send his team barrelling out of the dugout. The Eagles had won over their rival in an instant classic.

The Eagles would have one of their best offensive days of the season, collecting 14 hits and five home runs. With the win, they not only take their first conference series win of 2025, but also now move to 6-0 in one-run games. Six Eagles had multi-hit games on the day, including Sean White, who had a monster five RBIs as well.

The Eagles look for the sweep tomorrow afternoon against App State with first pitch at 1:00 PM as all family members, including dogs, are celebrated with Family Day and Bark at the Park festivites for the series finale.