Friday, March 18, 2005

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Mar. 18, 2005) - Georgia Southern scored six runs in the top of the ninth to take control of a close game, then went on to defeat East Tennessee State Friday night in the opener of a three-game Southern Conference series, 14-8, from Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn.

            With the win, the Eagles raise their record to 11-7, 4-0 in SoCon games while the Bucs fall to 11-3, 2-2 in league play.

            Both teams were scoreless in the first three innings before scoring single runs in the fourth. Brent Stephens hit an RBI single for Georgia Southern in the top of the inning and junior first baseman Blake Church (Roswell, Ga.) tied the game with a solo home run over the left field wall in the bottom of the frame.

            The Eagles took a 5-1 lead with four runs in the top of the fifth. Stephens walked with the bases loaded to drive in the first run and Brett Pelphrey followed with a two-run double to left-center. Derrick Smith then drove in Pelphrey with an RBI infield single.

            ETSU cut a run off the Eagle lead as junior designated hitter Josiah Glafenhein (Knoxville, Tenn.) hit a solo homer over the left field wall to lead off the bottom of the fifth.

            Georgia Southern added two more runs in the top of the sixth as Logan Phillips belted a two-run home run to left after a leadoff single by James Payne.

            The Bucs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 7-5 in favor of the Eagles. Glafenhein hit a two-run single with one out, then later scored on an error on a failed pickoff attempt.

            The Eagles came right back, scoring a run in the top of the seventh on a solo home run to left-center by Flint Wipke.

            East Tennessee State mounted a comeback in the bottom of the eighth, scoring two runs to cut Georgia Southern's lead to just one. Junior right fielder Shane Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) hit a sacrifice fly to score junior third baseman Greg Roberts (Douglas, Ga.) with two outs. Senior catcher Caleb Moore (Knoxville, Tenn.) followed with an RBI double, as junior shortstop Chuck Hargis (Powell, Tenn.) crossed the plate.

            But Georgia Southern put the game away in the top of the ninth with their six-run outburst. Smith hit an RBI single to drive in the first run of the inning and his pinch-runner, David Richardson, would score on an error with one out. Phillips then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Wipke from third. Payne crossed the plate on a two-out error before Stephens capped the inning with a two-run double to center.

            ETSU scored their final run in the bottom of the ninth as Hargis walked with the bases loaded, scoring junior centerfielder Matt Traylor (Knoxville, Tenn.).

            Josh Lairsey (4-1) earned the win for the Eagles, allowing four earned runs on five hits in 5.1 innings of work. He also struck out five and walked four. Steve Cogswell worked the final 2.1 innings to earn his fifth save of the season.

            Buccaneer junior righty Jeremy Hall (Gray, Tenn.) was charged with his first loss of the season (3-1), after giving up seven runs on 10 hits in six innings.

            The Bucs were led at the plate by Glafenhein, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. Moore also had three hits while Church was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

            Payne and Smith each had three hits for the Eagles, leading a 16-hit attack. Stephens paced the team with four RBIs while Dowling and Payne each scored three runs in the win.

            The Bucs and Eagles return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. for the second game of their three-game weekend series from Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn.