BOONE, N.C. ? Georgia Southern scored six runs in the fourth inning and six more in the sixth to hand Appalachian State University baseball its fifth-straight defeat, 12-7, on Friday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.

Appalachian (6-13, 1-8 SoCon) led 1-0 in the fourth when Georgia Southern (15-3, 2-0 SoCon) put its first six-spot on the board. Appalachian should have gotten out of the inning trailing only 2-1, but two critical errors not only led to four unearned runs but also forced Mountaineer starter Matt Andress to throw approximately 15 more pitches than he would have had the Apps not extended the frame with the miscues.

The extra pitches appeared to catch up with Andress in the sixth when the Eagles led off with a walk, triple and double to chase the right-hander from the game and kick-start another six-run stanza. Four of the Eagles' five hits in the six-run sixth went for extra bases (three doubles and a triple).

In addition to the errors and GSU's hot bats, the Mountaineers were plagued once again by missed opportunities at the plate. After leaving a total of 22 men on base in mid-week, two-run losses to Wake Forest and East Tennessee State, the Apps stranded 11 more in Friday's setback, including a whopping nine left in scoring position. Appalachian had opportunities to stretch the early 1-0 lead but left a pair of runners on base following Wes Hobson's solo homer in the first inning and grounded into a crushing double play with the bases loaded in the second.

After the early threats, Georgia Southern starter Chris Mederos settled in. The right-hander turned in six innings of one-run work, allowing only four hits over his final four stanzas and striking out eight en route to his fifth win in as many starts this season.

The Mountaineers made it interesting against the Eagle bullpen, scoring a run in the eighth and five in the ninth to cut the deficit to 12-7. Frankie Lewis' pinch-hit, three-run triple in the ninth bought the Apps within five but the game ended when Zack Briggs' rocket to the right side was snagged by GSU first baseman Will Southwell, who tossed to the pitcher covering the bag for the final out.

Andress was effective for much the outing but was saddled with nine runs (five earned) in five-plus innings of work to suffer the loss and fall to 1-3 on the season. Rand Smith, Hobson and Nick DeRose accounted for nine of ASU's 14 hits with three apiece. DeRose added a pair of RBI.

Six different Eagles registered multiple hits, led by nine-hole hitter Kevin Bowles' 2-for-5, three-RBI effort.

The teams continue their three-game Southern Conference series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Smith Stadium.