Montgomery, Al. --- The Georgia Southern baseball team (28-29) defeated Arkansas State (26-28) in the first round of the 2025 Sun Belt Tournament, 13-8, on Tuesday evening (May 20th).

The offense was clicking for the Eagles all night as they mashed 16 hits total against the Red Wolves, as they forced eight A-State pitchers to enter. It all started in the top of he first, when both a JuJu Stevens and Cade Parker single would drive in three runs in the opening frame. The Red Wolves would get one back with a solo shot, however, to make it 3-1 after the opening frame. 

Then, the Eagles exploded in the the third. They would scratch across seven runs on five hits to make it 10-1 early on and never look back from their lead. The inning was highlighted by two separate two-RBI hits from both Stevens and Sean White. For Stevens, he would have a historic night. The senior went six-for-six in just his fifth start of the season and totaled four RBIs, four runs, a homer in the sixth, and was just a triple away from the cycle. He was the first Eagle to go for six hits in a game since Jarrett Brown against ULM in 2023.

For the Red Wolves, however, they would not go down without a fight. In their fourth, they scored four runs off three hits and three consecutive walks from the Eagles, forcing their hand to send in Jacob Phillips. After the junior entered for the Eagles, the offense was almost entirely erased for Arkansas State. Across 5.2 innings of work, Phillips would give up five hits and just two runs (coming off a singular long ball swing in the ninth). He would strike out his career second-most eight batters on the evening as well.

After Stevens' solo shot in the sixth, it was an 11-6 contest going into stretch time at the ball park. The top of the eight saw the Eagles add on more insurance runs as Sean Smith single down the right field line to score two and give the Eagles 13 runs, their most since May 9th against Texas State. Although the Red Wolves would get the two back with a homer in the ninth, the Eagles would comfortably end the contest with the victory.  Aside from Stevens' historic performance, White, Jonathan Jaime, and Luke Odden all had two hits on the evening as well. 

After their first round win, the Eagle advance to the double elimination portion of the tournament, where they take on the top-seeded Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina. First pitch in Montgomery is set for 5 PM ET.