HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Georgia Southern baseball team split a doubleheader with Southern Miss on Saturday, March 25, falling in the first game of the day, 9-7, and defeating the Golden Eagles in the second game of the day, 10-8.
GAME ONE
Georgia Southern (11-12 3-2 SBC) got on the board first with a RBI-single by Jarrett Brown, scoring Jesse Sherrill from third base to take a quick 1-0 lead. However, the Golden Eagles (14-8, 3-2 SBC) scored one in the bottom of the second inning and four in the bottom of the third inning to take a 5-1 lead. The Eagles started to chip away in the top of the fourth when Noah Ledford knocked a RBI-double to center field, adding another run to the Eagles total, but the bottom of the fourth inning would see USM score on a throwing error to take a 6-2 lead. Georgia Southern made it 6-3 on a sac fly in the top of the fifth, and close the gap to 6-5 in the top of the seventh inning on a RBI-groundout by Sherrill and a RBI-single by Brown. Sam Blancato gave the Eagles the lead in the top of the eighth inning with a two-RBI double to right center, taking a 7-6 lead to the bottom of the eighth inning. However, the Golden Eagles would launch a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to take the 9-7 lead and eventually the final.
GAME TWO
Southern Miss (14-9, 3-3 SBC) would take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with a solo homer and a RBI-single, but Georgia Southern (12-12, 4-2 SBC) tied the game in a single swing with a two-RBI single by Jesse Sherrill. The Eagles would double the lead before the inning was over with a Jarrett Brown RBI-groundout and a Noah Ledford RBI-double. GS added one more in the top of the fourth inning with a RBI-single by Sherrill, but Southern Miss would tie it up with three runs scored in the bottom of the fourth inning. Noah Ledford cranked his fifth home run of the season in the top of the seventh inning to take a 7-5 lead, but the Golden Eagles responded with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Georgia Southern tied it up in the top of the ninth inning with Ledford's second homer of the contest and Sam Blancato would make the difference with a two-run bomb to right center, taking a 10-8 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. Jay Thompson would get a ground out, allowed a single, but then got the double play to get his first win of the season and salvage the series for GS.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will take on Georgia in the series finale between in-state foes in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday, March 29. First pitch from Foley Field is scheduled for 6 p.m.
