Georgia Southern's pitching may have taken a step forward with the job of freshman Justin Hess in Tuesday's 8-7 win over Kennesaw State, but the pitching woes continued in Wednesday's 22-6 loss at No. 9 Clemson.
"The thing I was looking for more than anything else was to see our guys go out there and compete pitch for pitch," said GSU coach Rodney Hennon about Wednesday's loss. "From that aspect, (Wednesday) was disappointing. We've got to pick ourselves up off the mat real quick here and get after Wofford."
The only sure bets this season in a starting rotation that has seen seven different pitchers get a start have been Jake Brown and Matt Murray.
Hess made a case for himself in Tuesday's start, going four solid innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and striking out six for the Eagles (9-9, 2-1 Southern Conference).
"We knew coming into the week that some guys were going to get some opportunities, Justin being one of those guys," said Hennon. "I thought he gave a big boost to our team and I think that will give him some confidence as we move forward here."
Despite the question marks in the pitching rotation, the offense has continued churning out runs, scoring 7.2 per game and has continued to improve the team batting average, which now sits at .289.
"You obviously learn a lot about your weaknesses when you play a good team, and I think you can learn a lot from not only yourself but also who you compete against," said Hennon. "One thing about (the Clemson game) with our hitters, despite the score getting out of hand, we did a good job continuing to compete in the batter's box."
The team got back to work on the practice field Thursday evening after leaving Clemson, S.C. in the morning.
"I think that's always good after a night like that," Hennon said. "You want to get back on the field as soon as possible."
The team is preparing for a three-game series against Wofford (6-9, 1-2) - the second conference matchup of the season.
"They were very young last year and I know they got a lot of those kids back," Hennon said about the Terriers. "They were pretty freshman heavy a year ago, and those kids got thrown to the fire and they have a lot of experience going though the Southern Conference."
Brown and Murray will start today and Saturday respectively, while Andy Moye is projected to get his second start of the season Sunday.
Today's first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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