A big five-run seventh inning lifted the Georgia Southern baseball team to a 7-4 win over Arkansas State Friday night at J.I. Clements Stadium in the opening game of the three-game Sun Belt Conference set.
With the Eagles (15-7, 3-1 SBC) trailing 1-0 in the second inning, Austin Thompson tied it up with a monster home run to left field, his fourth round-tripper of the season. The Red Wolves (4-15, 0-4 SBC) put up a three-spot in the third inning to take a 4-1 lead, but RBI ground outs from Noah Ledford, Jason Swan and Christian Avant eventually tied the game back up. Thompson's sharp single to center plated Ledford and give the Eagles their first lead of the game in the seventh inning before Jarrett Brown's single drove in two more runs to cap the big inning.
Brown and Jesse Sherrill led the offense with three hits apiece while Thompson and Avant both had a pair of hits for an offense that pounded out 12 hits.
Jaylen Paden got the start and struck out five in the no decision. Tyler Higgins struck out six in three innings, allowing just three hits in picking up the win. Jay Thompson pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up the save.
The two teams will resume the series on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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