Georgia Southern continues winning ways over the break

Kevin Keneely

While everyone was away for Spring Break, the Georgia Southern baseball team had to stay back and begin conference play. The team went 5-2 over the break.

The Eagles took on Appalachian State, Mercer and Troy over the break.

GSU travelled to App State to take them on in a three game series and swept the Mountaineers in three games. They posted a season-high 26 runs over the series.

Evan Challenger, Connor Simmons and Brian Eichhorn all picked up victories for GSU, giving them a 3-0 record within the Sun Belt.

In game one, Hunter Thomas lead the way for the Eagles knocking in five runs. Challenger also tied his career high with eight innings pitched.

In game two, Logan Baldwin lead the way with three RBIs.

In game three, C.J. Brazil lead the way with two RBIs, while Brian Eichhorn had an efficient night on the mound, setting a season record for the team when he retired 13-striaght batters and recorded a career-high six strike outs.

GSU then travelled to Macon to take on the Mercer Bears in a one game series. Anthony Paesano picked up another victory for the Eagles as they went on to win 11-10.

Evan McDonald lead the way for the Eagles against Mercer as he went 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring twice and knocking in one run. He notched his first home run as an Eagle and extended his hitting streak to eight games.

GSU was finally able to return home this past weekend as they took on Troy at J.I. Clements Stadium. This series did not go as well as the previous two series’ went as the Eagles came out of the series going 1-2 against the Trojans.

Chase Cohen picked up the lone victory for the Eagles Saturday night as the team went on to win 7-0, while Logan Baldwin lead the way for the Eagles on offense with four RBIs. McDonald continued to swing a hot bat as he extended his impressive hitting streak to 11 games.

Before McDonald started his hitting streak he was at the bottom of the lineup hitting ninth every game as he only picked up two hits in the first nine games of the season.

Now McDonald is hitting first for the Eagles and has increased his batting average from .100 to .304, which places him second on the team behind Baldwin who is hitting .313 on the season.

GSU hopes to get back to their winning ways this Thursday as they take on Arkansas State on the road. The Eagles don’t return home till April 1 when they take on Texas State.