Georgia Southern looks to finish off the season strong against their rivals from the north Georgia State.

Georgia Southern. Georgia State. The rivalry is back again this time in the form of college baseball. This past week for the Georgia Southern Eagles has accounted for Head Coach Rodney Hennon’s 600th Win at Georgia Southern, a Sun Belt Tournament spot, as well as an up and down series against the Clemson Tigers.

Despite all these things happening to the Eagles in one week they can not settle. They now host their rivals from Atlanta who enter play with a 23-29 overall record and a 9-18 Sun Belt record.

Georgia State Panthers (23-29, 9-18 Sun Belt)

The Panthers enter this weekends series looking to play spoiler. The Panthers have four players batting over .300. Jarrett Hood leads the team with a .354 average while posting 68 hits, scoring 32 runs, collecting 36 RBI’s, adding 20 extra base hits, and two home runs this season.

At home the Panthers have been slightly above average holding a 19-17 record but their struggles begin when they head away from Atlanta posting a 4-12 record. Georgia State is being outscored 328-317 this season with a team ERA of 5.51.

Wayne Wages has started 10 games for the Panthers while posting a 4-5 record and a 5.01 ERA. He has given up 47 runs while, striking out 52, and added a complete game to his resume this season. Wages is second on the team in hits batsmen at 12.

The Panthers are coming off being swept by Troy at home in Atlanta. Georgia State was outscored 29-8 last weekend and were not able to get anything going on offense. This will likely be the last series for the Panthers as they currently sit in 10th place in the Sun Belt Conference. The top eight teams advance to San Marco, Texas to play in the Sun Belt Tournament.

Georgia Southern Eagles (31-22, 14-13 Sun Belt)

This past week the Eagles Head Coach Rodney Hennon won his 600th game with the University after defeating North Florida 2-0 in a midweek home and home series. His team then found out that they had clinched a spot in the Sun Belt Tournament just a few days later.

The Eagles enter this series looking for revenge after they were unable to slow down the Clemson Tiger bats. The Tigers piled on 35 runs last weekend in a 2-1 series win. The Eagles were able to take the middle game of the series on a Jordan Wren walk-off base hit.

Logan Baldwin and Ryan Cleveland are the only two Georgia Southern batters to have an average over .300. Baldwin has posted a .311 average with 66 hits, 15 extra base hits, 28 RBI’s, and 37 runs scored. Baldwin also leads the team in stolen bases with 15. Cleveland has posted a .303 average with 61 hits, 19 extra base hits, 53 RBI’s, 14 homeruns, and 44 runs scored. The first baseman also is second on the team for stolen bases with 11.

The Eagles pitching staff has been solid in their rotation. In his 13 starts Evan Challenger has a 5-4 record while allowing 37 runs and striking out 63. The guy that follows him in the rotation, Chase Cohen, has posted a 4-2 record while allowing 24 runs and striking out 55.

The Eagles look to hopefully jump up a few seeds in the Sun Belt tournament as they currently sit in fifth place. The Sun Belt Tournament will begin on May 25th and continue through May 29th.

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