The fireworks display of an offense that had Georgia Southern University atop the nation in team batting average three weeks ago has simmered down since beginning Southern Conference play.

The Eagles (20-9, 4-5 SoCon) lost the series to Davidson College over the weekend and have lost seven of their last 12. If they didn’t pull out a four-run, eighth-inning comeback win over Appalachian State University, the team would have lost all three conference series this year.

In the 17 games leading up to the first SoCon series against Elon University, the Eagles averaged 9.7 runs per game. This number can be considered a little inflated due to some of the glorified high-school teams GSU played early on – but still, these guys can hit and 9.7 runs a game proves that.

But in the nine league games, the Eagles are putting up only 4.1 runs per game. They have been shut out twice in that span – and not once in the 17 games prior.

It’s not to say this wasn’t expected to some degree. You can’t bank on a team to hit .348 and lead the nation in runs scored all year long, especially against SoCon opponents. But it is something to pay attention to. With about half of the season left to play, which team will finish the year?