Georgia Southern slugged its way into a fourth seed for this week’s Southern Conference baseball tournament, and how far the Eagles go will likely depend on the shakiest part of their game so far — pitching.
During the regular season, GSU’s staff ranked eighth in the 10-team league with a 6.75 ERA, and the Eagles (32-23, 16-11) will aim for better results beginning tonight at 8 when junior right-hander Kyle Kamppi takes the mound for their first-round game against UNC Greensboro. The Citadel, which was eliminated in a play-in game Tuesday night, hosts the 10-team double-elimination tournament at Joseph Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to pitch and hit our best this weekend in Charleston,” freshman right-hander Andy Moye said. “It’s all going to come down to how good we pitch. We know we can score a lot of runs and hit (well), so if we can take care of the pitching I think we’ll be very good. I’m ready to get (up) there and take care of business.”
Georgia Southern swept the fifth-seeded Spartans (31-25, 15-12) less than two weeks ago, and both teams dropped their final regular-season series last weekend. The Eagles lost two to No. 3 seed Furman while UNCG fell twice to last-place Davidson. Prior to losing their last two SoCon series, the Spartans took all three games from second-seeded Charleston.
GSU owns the best offense in the league with a .344 batting average, nearly 45 points better than the Spartans, who rank sixth in the conference in offensive production. The matchup has another interesting twist – UNCG knocked the Eagles out of the tournament a year ago, sending GSU home on a season-ending triple play.
The tournament winner earns the SoCon’s automatic bid to a NCAA Regional, a coveted trip the Eagles last made in 2002. GSU’s most recent appearance in the title game came in 2005.
“This is a great time of year for us — it’s what we look forward to all year,” said GSU slugger Chris Shehan, who was tabbed the conference’s player of the year by league media Tuesday. “Hopefully it’ll be a good time, and we’ll bring back a ring for Georgia Southern. We’ve got to move runners when we have the opportunity to, get our bunts down and do all the small things because that’s what wins conference championships.”
This year’s tournament features a new format with two separate brackets designed to create a one-game championship slated for Sunday (SportSouth). Staying in the winner’s bracket will have a major payoff: A day off on Friday while the loser’s bracket teams fight to advance.
The Eagles are in the same bracket as the top-seeded Elon Phoenix, who the GSU/UNCG winner will meet in the second round. Georgia Southern was swept by Elon earlier this season, but anything is possible as Wofford proved last year by winning it all as the eighth seed.
“We are definitely ready,” shortstop Brian Pierce said. “This team is pretty experienced. There are a lot of good teams in our conference this year. The last couple weeks everybody was within a few games of each other in the standings, so I think there are a lot of pretty evenly matched teams.”
Eagle coach Rodney Hennon said a major key will be staying aggressive on the mound and fighting ahead in the count. Riley Park generally plays much bigger than J.I. Clements Stadium, and Hennon hopes to see his pitchers attack the strike zone while the defense plays tight behind them.
“We are looking forward to going over to Charleston,” Hennon said. “This is a group that’s battled all year long. You are talking about a new season for everyone, and right now we can’t look any further than UNC Greensboro. I think the biggest thing right now is focusing on the task at hand and the things we can control.
“You can expect a team that’s going to play hard and lay it all on the line. This group has done that all year, and certainly they are prepared to do that in the tournament.”
Note: Designated hitter Ty Wright and Shehan were named to the All-SoCon first team by the media Tuesday, while Drew Murray earned second-team honors as a starting pitcher.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
During the regular season, GSU’s staff ranked eighth in the 10-team league with a 6.75 ERA, and the Eagles (32-23, 16-11) will aim for better results beginning tonight at 8 when junior right-hander Kyle Kamppi takes the mound for their first-round game against UNC Greensboro. The Citadel, which was eliminated in a play-in game Tuesday night, hosts the 10-team double-elimination tournament at Joseph Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to pitch and hit our best this weekend in Charleston,” freshman right-hander Andy Moye said. “It’s all going to come down to how good we pitch. We know we can score a lot of runs and hit (well), so if we can take care of the pitching I think we’ll be very good. I’m ready to get (up) there and take care of business.”
Georgia Southern swept the fifth-seeded Spartans (31-25, 15-12) less than two weeks ago, and both teams dropped their final regular-season series last weekend. The Eagles lost two to No. 3 seed Furman while UNCG fell twice to last-place Davidson. Prior to losing their last two SoCon series, the Spartans took all three games from second-seeded Charleston.
GSU owns the best offense in the league with a .344 batting average, nearly 45 points better than the Spartans, who rank sixth in the conference in offensive production. The matchup has another interesting twist – UNCG knocked the Eagles out of the tournament a year ago, sending GSU home on a season-ending triple play.
The tournament winner earns the SoCon’s automatic bid to a NCAA Regional, a coveted trip the Eagles last made in 2002. GSU’s most recent appearance in the title game came in 2005.
“This is a great time of year for us — it’s what we look forward to all year,” said GSU slugger Chris Shehan, who was tabbed the conference’s player of the year by league media Tuesday. “Hopefully it’ll be a good time, and we’ll bring back a ring for Georgia Southern. We’ve got to move runners when we have the opportunity to, get our bunts down and do all the small things because that’s what wins conference championships.”
This year’s tournament features a new format with two separate brackets designed to create a one-game championship slated for Sunday (SportSouth). Staying in the winner’s bracket will have a major payoff: A day off on Friday while the loser’s bracket teams fight to advance.
The Eagles are in the same bracket as the top-seeded Elon Phoenix, who the GSU/UNCG winner will meet in the second round. Georgia Southern was swept by Elon earlier this season, but anything is possible as Wofford proved last year by winning it all as the eighth seed.
“We are definitely ready,” shortstop Brian Pierce said. “This team is pretty experienced. There are a lot of good teams in our conference this year. The last couple weeks everybody was within a few games of each other in the standings, so I think there are a lot of pretty evenly matched teams.”
Eagle coach Rodney Hennon said a major key will be staying aggressive on the mound and fighting ahead in the count. Riley Park generally plays much bigger than J.I. Clements Stadium, and Hennon hopes to see his pitchers attack the strike zone while the defense plays tight behind them.
“We are looking forward to going over to Charleston,” Hennon said. “This is a group that’s battled all year long. You are talking about a new season for everyone, and right now we can’t look any further than UNC Greensboro. I think the biggest thing right now is focusing on the task at hand and the things we can control.
“You can expect a team that’s going to play hard and lay it all on the line. This group has done that all year, and certainly they are prepared to do that in the tournament.”
Note: Designated hitter Ty Wright and Shehan were named to the All-SoCon first team by the media Tuesday, while Drew Murray earned second-team honors as a starting pitcher.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
