Courtesy of GSU Media Relations

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? Georgia Southern scored five runs in the fifth inning but could not rally from down 10 runs, losing 10-5 at Jacksonville on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 7). The Eagles fell to 1-2 overall.

JU (2-0) scored an unearned run in the first off redshirt-freshman Matt Shurley. In the third, Gordie Gronkowski nailed a 2-run homer. The Dolphins broke the game open in the fourth inning scoring seven times all with two outs.

The Eagles used timely hits and two wild pitches to score their runs. Chris Hollis hit a RBI single then Brett Pelfrey followed with a run scoring double. Southern scored twice on two wild pitches in the inning. Later Mike Economos lined a RBI single for the fifth run.

All four of Southern’s pitchers made their first collegiate appearance. Shurley (0-1) allowed six runs (only two earned) on six hits through 3.2 innings. Cletus Jessup gave up three unearned runs. Austin Chambliss turned in an impressive performance, allowing one unearned run on three hits in four innings while recording five strikeouts. Aaron Eubanks struck out a batter the only batter he faced to end the eighth inning.

Pelfrey and Greg Dowling had two hits apiece and each scored a run.

Thomas LePage had three hits and three RBI. Gronkowski, Matt Lopez and Daniel Murphy each had two hits and drove in two. Justin Young (1-0) picked up the win in relief.

Georgia Southern returns to J.I. Clements Stadium this weekend, hosting in-state rival Georgia Tech for a two-game series. Saturday’s game against the third-ranked (Baseball America) Yellow Jackets is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. while Sunday’s contest will be televised live on CSS starting at 2 p.m.