CHARLESTON, S.C. – The final out wasn’t called until 2:07 a.m. Thursday, but the weary Georgia Southern Eagles didn’t care about the time on the clock.
What mattered more was they were marching on in the Southern Conference tournament after topping UNG Greensboro 21-9 in first-round action at Joseph Riley Park.
The fourth-seeded Eagles advance to face top-seeded Elon, a 21-12 winner over Wofford Wednesday. The matchup is slated for 8 p.m., though tournament games usually run late. Such was the case Wednesday when GSU starter Kyle Kamppi didn’t toss the game’s first pitch until 10:15 p.m.
Georgia Southern jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after three, but by time Thursday morning rolled around, the Eagles were in an 8-7 hole in the top of the sixth. GSU regained the lead for good during its half of the frame, cranking out four runs on Griffin Benedict’s RBI double, a run-scoring infield single by Jeremiah Parker and David Richardson’s two-run single to right.
They were just getting warmed up.
The hot-hitting Eagles exploded for seven more runs – all with two outs – in the seventh. A.J. Wirnsberger drove home the first two runs with a double to center, Brian Pierce and Jeremy Beckham added two-run singles and Phillip Porter’s RBI single put GSU up 18-9.
"I was really proud of how our team responded after Greensboro took the lead," Eagle coach Rodney Hennon said. "We got some key two-out hits, and guys up and down the lineup were contributing tonight."
Georgia Southern (33-23) became the fourth team in the tournament’s 25-year history to score 20 or more runs. It happened twice Wednesday, with GSU and Elon both passing the plateau and coming one run shy of the tournament record (22).
The Eagles tallied 21 hits, four from first baseman Jeremiah Parker, who ignited his team with a three-run bomb off the video board in right-center to give GSU a 3-0 lead in the third. He hit another one out in his next at-bat and finished with five RBIs and five runs scored.
Porter, Benedict and Pierce added three hits each while Beckham recorded two hits and four RBIs and Wirnsberger had two hits and three RBIs.
Aaron Eubanks (6-1) earned the win, allowing two earned runs in 2 2/3 innings of relief.
Elon swept Georgia Southern during the regular season and played a role in the Eagles’ late start Wednesday by cranking out a tournament-record 15 runs during the shellacking of Wofford. The Phoenix, winners of six straight, also tied the tourney mark for most RBIs (21) and has put up 47 runs in its last three games.
Drew Murray is scheduled to take the mound for the Eagles.
Who’s out
Tenth-seeded Davidson and tournament host The Citadel, the eighth-seeded, were sent packing after dropping play-in games Tuesday.
Eagle fun facts
Georgia Southern’s hitting coach Mike Tidick, a former outfielder for Western Carolina, earned All-SoCon tournament honors in 1993 and 1994. First-year GSU pitching coach Jason Beverlin was also named to the 1993 all-tournament team and holds the record for most wins (3) in the event.
Former Eagle catcher A.J. Zickgraf owns the tourney mark for highest batting average after going 10-for-14 (.714) in 2003.
GSU is looking for its fourth SoCon tournament title and first since 2002 when the Eagles won as the fourth-seed. Georgia Southern also took home the crown in 1996 and 2000, both times as the No. 1 seed.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
