Georgia Southern University Baseball takes to the road for their first weekend roadtrip. The Eagles travel to East Carolina for the Keith LeClair Classic. The annual tournament, in its fifth year, will also feature 23rd-ranked Michigan and Pittsburgh.
The Eagles (4-5) open the Classic against No. 23 Michigan Friday at 1 p.m. GSU takes on Pittsburgh Saturday morning at 11 a.m. then faces the host Pirates Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Keith LeClair classic is named after the former baseball coach who passed away in 2006 from ALS. Georgia Southern head coach Rodney Hennon and assistant coaches Mike Tidick and Jason Beverlin all played for LeClair when he was the coach at Western Carolina.
Hennon, who is in his ninth year in charge of Eagle Baseball, remains one win shy of 300 at Georgia Southern. He owns a 299-196 record in Statesboro and is 381-234-1 in 11 years overall as a head coach.
Earlier this week, the Eagles dropped a 10-7 decision at Bethune-Cookman to snap a three-game winning streak. Kyle Blackburn extended his hitting streak to a personal-high nine games.
Southern improved its batting average to .337 while also posting a .971 fielding percentage and 8.13 ERA. Aaron Eubanks will get the start against the Wolverines with Drew Murray going against Pitt and Andy Moye to face East Carolina.
Eubanks (1-1) picked up his first win of the year last weekend against Towson. He dropped his ERA to 9.35, striking out six in 8.2 innings. Murray has two no-decisions to start the year. The junior right-hander owns an 11.17 ERA striking out eight in 9.2 innings. Moye improved to 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA after winning the Towson finale. He has fanned eight in 10 innings of work.
Phillip Porter owns the team batting lead, .565 with five runs scored and six RBI. He has started four straight games and shares the team lead with four stolen bases. Matt Miller is hitting at a .421 clip with team-highs of 15 runs scored and six doubles. Chris Shehan is also hitting above .400 — now .406 with 11 runs scored, 12 RBI and three home runs.
Blackburn holds the team-lead with four home runs, in addition to his .382 batting average, 11 runs and 10 RBI. Seven of the Eagles starters are batting .290 or higher.
“This will be a great opportunity for our team, a great environment to play in and we are looking forward to the challenge,” said Hennon. “This tournament is special. I’m glad that East Carolina still honors Coach LeClair by hosting this event in his name.”
The Eagles own a 12-8 all-time advantage versus East Carolina, but the two teams have not met since ECU took a pair in February 2004 in the first-ever LeClair Classic. Georgia Southern defeated Michigan 4-3 in 10 innings during the 2006 Eagle Invitational, the only meeting between the two squads.
This will be the first meeting between Georgia Southern and Pitt.
The Eagles (4-5) open the Classic against No. 23 Michigan Friday at 1 p.m. GSU takes on Pittsburgh Saturday morning at 11 a.m. then faces the host Pirates Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Keith LeClair classic is named after the former baseball coach who passed away in 2006 from ALS. Georgia Southern head coach Rodney Hennon and assistant coaches Mike Tidick and Jason Beverlin all played for LeClair when he was the coach at Western Carolina.
Hennon, who is in his ninth year in charge of Eagle Baseball, remains one win shy of 300 at Georgia Southern. He owns a 299-196 record in Statesboro and is 381-234-1 in 11 years overall as a head coach.
Earlier this week, the Eagles dropped a 10-7 decision at Bethune-Cookman to snap a three-game winning streak. Kyle Blackburn extended his hitting streak to a personal-high nine games.
Southern improved its batting average to .337 while also posting a .971 fielding percentage and 8.13 ERA. Aaron Eubanks will get the start against the Wolverines with Drew Murray going against Pitt and Andy Moye to face East Carolina.
Eubanks (1-1) picked up his first win of the year last weekend against Towson. He dropped his ERA to 9.35, striking out six in 8.2 innings. Murray has two no-decisions to start the year. The junior right-hander owns an 11.17 ERA striking out eight in 9.2 innings. Moye improved to 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA after winning the Towson finale. He has fanned eight in 10 innings of work.
Phillip Porter owns the team batting lead, .565 with five runs scored and six RBI. He has started four straight games and shares the team lead with four stolen bases. Matt Miller is hitting at a .421 clip with team-highs of 15 runs scored and six doubles. Chris Shehan is also hitting above .400 — now .406 with 11 runs scored, 12 RBI and three home runs.
Blackburn holds the team-lead with four home runs, in addition to his .382 batting average, 11 runs and 10 RBI. Seven of the Eagles starters are batting .290 or higher.
“This will be a great opportunity for our team, a great environment to play in and we are looking forward to the challenge,” said Hennon. “This tournament is special. I’m glad that East Carolina still honors Coach LeClair by hosting this event in his name.”
The Eagles own a 12-8 all-time advantage versus East Carolina, but the two teams have not met since ECU took a pair in February 2004 in the first-ever LeClair Classic. Georgia Southern defeated Michigan 4-3 in 10 innings during the 2006 Eagle Invitational, the only meeting between the two squads.
This will be the first meeting between Georgia Southern and Pitt.
