Baseball season is finally upon us as the Georgia Southern University baseball

team’s home opener is today against in-state opponent Georgia Institute of

Technology.

GSU is coming off a three-game series on the road against the University of Georgia

that saw them take two out of three games while scoring a total of 40 runs.

GT on the other hand comes in with a 1-2 record overall after hosting the Battle in

Midtown, which saw them win the first game against Old Dominion University by a

score of 6-5, and then saw them drop the next two games.

In the last four years Yellow Jackets have won seven of the ten times the teams have

met and in that time span they are 4-1 when they play in Statesboro.

Traditionally the early season tests against the big in-state schools such as UGA and

GT provide a barometer to what direction the season will go.

After a dominating performance against the Bulldogs this past weekend hopes are

high that the Eagles will continue the offensive surge.

Three GSU players currently are batting over .400 and the team batting average is

a .356.

As a pitching staff the Eagles earned run average is 5.19, which by no means is

spectacular however opponents bat only .262 against them.

GT on the other hand has only one player that is batting over .400 and it is

sophomore utility man Matt Gonzalez.

As a team the Yellow Jackets are hitting an abysmal .202 and have more strikeouts

(20) than they do hits (18).

Pitching and defense is the strength of GT despite the fact of the 1-2 record, as they

post a 3.00 earned run average and .248 opponent batting average.

The Eagles will face the Yellow Jackets once more later in the season in April,

however holding bragging rights until then wouldn’t be a terrible thing.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. tonight at J.I. Clements Stadium and is the first of a five-

game home stand that the Eagles will have this week.