In this weekend’s series, the roles are reversed.
    Last week, the Georgia Southern Eagles needed a series win to give themselves the edge in the Southern Conference loss column, entering the weekend on Elon’s heels.
    Now that GSU is in the driver’s seat, UNC Greensboro will look to close the gap.
    The Spartans (22-17, 11-7 SoCon) enter the weekend tied for third with College of Charleston, and host Georgia Southern (25-16, 13-5) for a three-game series beginning today at 6 p.m.
    After winning only seven SoCon games in 2010, UNCG is only 2.5 games back of the conference lead.
    “I think Greensboro is the most improved team in the league, maybe even the country,” said GSU coach Rodney Hennon. “If you look at them this year, they haven’t beat themselves. They’re leading the league in fielding, they’re leading the league in sacrifice bunts, and they’ve played pretty sound baseball all year. We’ve got to focus on doing all those things and not getting caught up in the standings. We’ve just got to do the things necessary to win.”
    The Eagles lead the league in most offensive categories, and stranded runners and defensive miscues have been the most glaring negatives.
    “We’ve got to get good pitching and get good, sound defense. Offensively, we need to do the little things. We need to move runners, get runners in from third with less than two outs, all the things necessary to win,” said Hennon. “That’s what we’re trying to focus on.”
    The third weekend pitching slot is another area in which the Eagles are looking for consistency. After throwing 10 different pitchers in Wednesday’s 11-7 win at Kennesaw State, Joe Lower will get the nod Sunday.
    Chris Beck (6-1, 3.47 ERA) will again get the Friday start, and Andy Moye (5-1, 2.30 ERA) will start on Saturday.
    “Our starting pitching has a huge impact on our team,” said Hennon. “When we go out and pitch well, our team plays with confidence.”

    Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.

Southern Conference Standings
Team    SoCon    All    Streak    GB
Elon      15-6    27-17    W1    —
Ga. Southern      13-5    25-16    W1    0.5
Charleston      11-7    27-15    W4    2.5
UNC Greensboro      11-7    22-17    W3    2.5
Samford      12-9    25-17    W1    3
Appalachian St.      10-11    26-18    W1    5
Furman      9-11    19-25    L7    5.5
The Citadel      8-13    16-24    W1    7
Wofford      6-12    19-22    L2    7.5
W. Carolina      7-14    17-21    L1    8
Davidson      8-15    18-22    W2    8