STATESBORO, Ga. – App State rallied to take the lead late in game one, but Georgia Southern grabbed it right back, claiming the first game of the doubleheader, and riding the momentum to a win in game two, to take the final two games of the three-game weekend series at J.I. Clements Stadium.
GAME 1
App State came back from trailing 5-1 to take the lead in the top of the eighth inning, but Georgia Southern responded with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, to take game one, 8-6.
In the top of the eighth inning, with App State trailing 5-3,
Jonathan Xuereb and
Xavier Moronta each walked with one out, and with two away,
Braxton Church walked to load the bases. Xuereb then scored on a wild pitch, and
Luke Drumheller followed with a two-run single to center field to put App State ahead, 6-5.
Georgia Southern regained the lead in the bottom of the frame. JP Tighe led off the inning with a home run, and three batters later, Jarrett Brown smacked a two-run shot to give the Eagles an 8-6 win, the eventual final score.
App State got on the scoreboard for the first time in the fourth inning when Moronta singled with the bases loaded to score
Austin St. Laurent. One inning later, St. Laurent singled with two outs, and
Hayden Cross followed with a two-0run home run, his second of the season, which cut the Eagles advantage to 5-3.
Grey LaSpaluto suffered the loss, giving up two runs in 3.1 innings in relief, after
Bradley Wilson started the contest.
Dante Chirico finished off the eighth inning by recording a pair of strikeouts.
GAME 2
A nine-run fifth inning for the Eagles proved to be too much for the Mountaineers to overcome in a 19-5 loss for the Mountaineers in the finale.
The ballgame was much tighter early on.
CJ Boyd blasted his fourth home run of the season, skying a ball over the batter's eye in center field in the second inning to tie the score at 1-1.
The Eagles re-gained the lead with a three-run third inning, in which they used three consecutive RBI singles to take a 4-1 lead.
Then in the fifth Georgia Southern pulled away. The Eagles plated nine runs in the frame, taking advantage of four hits as well as five walks and a pair of hit batters in the inning, to take a 14-2 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning,
Alex Reed blasted his first career home run for the Mountaineers, blasting a two-run shot over the tall fence in right field, scoring
Carson Arnold who singled one batter prior for his first hit of the year.
The game was called a Georgia Southern run-rule victory, as the home team led by double-digits after six-and-a-half innings.
App State will be back in action on Tuesday, when they host UNC Asheville in the second game of a home-and-home series. The Mountaineers won the first game, 7-3. First pitch Tuesday is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
