Appalachian State University baseball plays its inaugural Sun Belt Conference series against a familiar foe this weekend when it travels for a three-game set at Georgia Southern. Game times are slated for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga.

Like it did in football last fall, Appalachian State (5-6) will play is first-ever Sun Belt baseball contests in eastern Georgia against longtime rival Georgia Southern (8-5). The Mountaineers and Eagles have met 78 previous times on the baseball diamond with Georgia Southern holding a 58-20 advantage. Despite the Eagles' commanding lead in the all-time series, App State has closed the gap in recent years with eight wins in its last 15 meetings.

Last year alone, Appalachian and Georgia Southern squared off five times, with the Eagles winning three of the five contests. After GS won 2-of-3 games in the teams' regular-season series in Statesboro, the teams met twice at the Southern Conference Tournament in Charleston, S.C. Both postseason games were thrillers, with the Mountaineers taking a 3-2, 11-inning decision in the tournament opener before their season came to an end with a 2-1 loss to the Eagles two days later.

In addition to making its second visit to J.I. Clements Stadium in as many years due to the new Sun Belt slate, Appalachian State is also making its second trip to the state of Georgia in as many weeks. The Mountaineers journeyed to the Peach State last weekend, losing 2-of-3 games to No. 16 Maryland at the Perfect Game LakePoint Complex in suburban Atlanta.

While Appalachian State is a game below .500 for the season, it has claimed two wins over power-conference opponents in the last nine days (a 10-1 rout at Wake Forest on Feb. 25 and a 9-7 triumph over Maryland last Saturday).

On Wednesday, the Mountaineers nearly picked up their third victory over a power-conference foe in a week when they jumped out to a 4-2 lead over NC State before the Wolfpack rallied for four runs over the final four innings and handed Appalachian a 6-4 defeat. The loss was the Mountaineers' second this year and their 10th since the beginning of last season when they led after six innings.

Georgia Southern has enjoyed even more success against power-conference opponents this season with two wins over West Virginia and an impressive three-game sweep of Georgia last weekend in Statesboro. GS has benefitted from playing 12 of their first 13 games at home.

Besides the Appalachian State and Georgia Southern renewing their intense rivalry as Sun Belt foes, perhaps the biggest storyline of the weekend belongs to Appalachian's Michael Pierson. Pierson, a senior infielder, has reached base in 41-straight games, which is the longest streak in the season. Pierson's other-worldly run has now surpassed 11 months — the last time that he did not get aboard was on April 1 of last season at South Carolina.

The three-game series at Georgia Southern is the beginning of a five-game swing through the Peach State for Appalachian State. After the weekend set in Statesboro, the Mountaineers head northwest for a two-game series at Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday.