Heading into Friday night’s series opener against Lipscomb, Georgia Southern’s offense looked like it might be in for a long night at the office.
The Bison’s starting pitcher, right hander Rob Smithson, came to Statesboro with sparkling statistics — a 0.60 ERA and just two earned runs, 16 hits and 33 strikeouts in 30 innings.
That didn’t phase the Eagles.
Georgia Southern came out hot, scoring five runs on four hits in the first and using the big inning to cruise to a 9-1 non-conference win at J.I. Clements Stadium, their first in three games.
“It was big getting the lead,” Eagle coach Rodney Hennon said. “We were lucky to get out to a five-run lead against a guy that’s been very good all year.”
Georgia Southern’s quick start was aided by two hit batters, one walk and one error in the first. By the time Eagle starter Drew Murray took the mound to start the second, he was breathing a little easier. He ended up going the distance for his first complete game of the year. Murray surrendered nine hits and one earned run and struck out five.
“It’s huge to get run support,” Murray said. “Just to go out there with the lead, you can pound at the hitters and go right out after them. My arm’s been feeling better lately, and I wasn’t trying to pick around the zone. I was just going right at hitters and trying to keep the pitch count down.”
Smithson (3-1) took the loss for the Bison, who fell to 13-8 on the year.
The Eagles (14-9) picked up the win with a rearranged batting order designed to spark the team’s recent sluggish offense. Changes including moving junior second baseman Jeremy Beckham to the leadoff spot for the first time this year and senior right fielder Mike Economos down to the seventh spot.
“You never know,” Hennon said of shaking up the lineup. “Sometimes you just try to move guys around and try something to get a spark. You never know how it’s going to work out and tonight it worked. We’ll see from here.”
Centerfielder Matt Miller went 3-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored to lead Georgia Southern at the plate. Leftfielder Chris Hollis and shortstop Brian Pierce added a pair of hits apiece.
“This is a great team,” Miller said. “We struggled the last week, but we faced some great pitchers. We’ve just been focusing and doing our job.”
Freshman designated hitter Kyle Blackburn pushed Georgia Southern’s lead to 7-1 with a two-run bomb off the batter’s eye in center in the third. The Eagles picked up two more runs in the seventh on a Hollis RBI single and Miller’s run-scoring sacrifice fly, which provided the final margin.
Senior righty John Ducey will take the mound for the Eagles in today’s 1:30 p.m. game. Lipscomb’s starter hasn’t been announced.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
The Bison’s starting pitcher, right hander Rob Smithson, came to Statesboro with sparkling statistics — a 0.60 ERA and just two earned runs, 16 hits and 33 strikeouts in 30 innings.
That didn’t phase the Eagles.
Georgia Southern came out hot, scoring five runs on four hits in the first and using the big inning to cruise to a 9-1 non-conference win at J.I. Clements Stadium, their first in three games.
“It was big getting the lead,” Eagle coach Rodney Hennon said. “We were lucky to get out to a five-run lead against a guy that’s been very good all year.”
Georgia Southern’s quick start was aided by two hit batters, one walk and one error in the first. By the time Eagle starter Drew Murray took the mound to start the second, he was breathing a little easier. He ended up going the distance for his first complete game of the year. Murray surrendered nine hits and one earned run and struck out five.
“It’s huge to get run support,” Murray said. “Just to go out there with the lead, you can pound at the hitters and go right out after them. My arm’s been feeling better lately, and I wasn’t trying to pick around the zone. I was just going right at hitters and trying to keep the pitch count down.”
Smithson (3-1) took the loss for the Bison, who fell to 13-8 on the year.
The Eagles (14-9) picked up the win with a rearranged batting order designed to spark the team’s recent sluggish offense. Changes including moving junior second baseman Jeremy Beckham to the leadoff spot for the first time this year and senior right fielder Mike Economos down to the seventh spot.
“You never know,” Hennon said of shaking up the lineup. “Sometimes you just try to move guys around and try something to get a spark. You never know how it’s going to work out and tonight it worked. We’ll see from here.”
Centerfielder Matt Miller went 3-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored to lead Georgia Southern at the plate. Leftfielder Chris Hollis and shortstop Brian Pierce added a pair of hits apiece.
“This is a great team,” Miller said. “We struggled the last week, but we faced some great pitchers. We’ve just been focusing and doing our job.”
Freshman designated hitter Kyle Blackburn pushed Georgia Southern’s lead to 7-1 with a two-run bomb off the batter’s eye in center in the third. The Eagles picked up two more runs in the seventh on a Hollis RBI single and Miller’s run-scoring sacrifice fly, which provided the final margin.
Senior righty John Ducey will take the mound for the Eagles in today’s 1:30 p.m. game. Lipscomb’s starter hasn’t been announced.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
