The Georgia Southern baseball team fell 14-11 to the second-seeded and 25th-ranked Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Sunday afternoon in the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Troy University.
Southern Miss (41-18) took an early lead in the top of the first with a three-run homer, but Georgia Southern (33-26) responded in the bottom half of the same frame with three homers from Sean Smith, Jarrett Brown, and Sean White to take a 4-3 lead after one.
In the bottom of the third, Sam Blancato knocked a two-run homer to double the lead at 6-3. With the home run, Blancato also put up eleven RBIs during the tournament, which was the most by an Eagle in a conference tournament since at least 2005, and two shy of the SBC Tournament record of 13.
The Golden Eagles would tie the game up over the next couple innings, cutting into the lead with an RBI-groundout in the top of the fourth, then tying the game with two RBI-singles in the top of the fifth.
The bottom of the fifth saw Georgia Southern increase the lead to two again, with a White sacrifice bunt to score Smith, then a wild pitch that scored Kent Schmidt.
The Golden Eagles fought back and took the lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI-single and two-RBI single, but Brown would tie the contest with his second homer in the bottom of the seventh, then T.J. McKenzie would put the Eagles up two again with a two-run homer, which was the Eagles' sixth home run of the day, a SBC Tournament record.
The Golden Eagles would plate five in the top of the ninth with an RBI-single, an error that scored two, and a two-RBI single, taking a three run lead and eventually winning by the final score of 14-11.
Joey White was tagged with his third loss of the season while Colby Allen was given the win.
Brown led the Eagles offense with a 3-for-5 day, with two homers and three RBI. Blancato, White, and Smith also had multiple hits.
UP NEXT
The Eagles await their NCAA Tournament fate with the ESPN Selection Show airing on Monday, May 27, at noon.
