HAWAII 2, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 1
HONOLULU, HAWAII ? Making his collegiate debut, freshman Brian Wilkerson (Bonaire/Houston County) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning but 13 stranded runners cost Georgia Southern in a 2-1 decision at Hawai’i Saturday afternoon (Feb. 3). The Eagles fell to 1-2 overall while the Rainbows improved to 4-2.
Wilkerson carried his no-hitter into the sixth, getting the first two batters. However, Justin Frash and Brandon Haislet lined back-to-back singles then Kris Sanchez delivered a two-run double down the right field line. The freshman right-hander responded by striking out Evan Zimny to end the threat.
The Eagles threatened in the first. Chris Hollis (Loganville/Faith Academy) lined a leadoff single then eventually stole second base. But starter Joshua Schneider struck out Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) and Mike Economos (Atlanta/Marist) to end the threat. GS loaded the bases with two outs in the second on a walk to A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) then singles to Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) and Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) but could not scratch across a run.
Wilkerson cruised through the first three innings, but a one-out walk to Frash in the fourth set the stage for the Rainbows’ first rally. Haislet grounded out but advanced the runner into scoring position. The Eagles issued an intentional walk to the hot-hitting Sanchez, then Wilkerson got out of the jam when Zimny grounded out.
Georgia Southern tried to stage a two-out rally in the fifth. Miller knocked his third double of the series then the Rainbows intentionally walked Economos. Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) grounded out to end the frame. In the sixth, GS put a pair of runners on base again.
Wirnsberger’s first collegiate hit was a one-out double to center field. Porter followed with his career-high third hit. But an infield popup and groundout snuffed out the Eagles’ rally.
In the seventh the Eagles finally got onto the scoreboard. Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) was hit by a pitch then Miller lined a single, putting runners at first and second. A fielder’s choice put runners at the corners. Beckham was able to tag and score when Benedict fouled out to left fielder Jorge Franco.
The Eagles knocked on the door again in the eighth. Wirnsberger led off with a single and advanced to second on Porter’s sacrifice bunt. A fielding error put runners on the corners with one out. Hollis popped out for the second out. Beckham lined a shot up the middle, but shortstop Eli Christensen made a spectacular diving stop and got the force out at second to keep GS off the scoreboard.
“You couldn’t ask for more from Brian, he gave us a great effort. He was in rhythm all day long, throwing a lot of first pitch strikes and he was able to throw all three of his pitches for strikes,” said head coach Rodney Hennon. “Unfortunately we were not able to take advantage of the offensive opportunities. We just could not get the big two out hit. We’ll get back to practice next week and work on doing a better job taking better swings with runners in scoring positions.”
Porter finished with a career-high three hits while Wirnsberger and Miller added two hits apiece, part of the 10-3 hits advantage. The Eagles actually out-hit Hawai’i in every game, totaling 33 hits in the series.
Wirnsberger (0-1) finished with the two runs on three hits, walking two and striking out two. A.J. Battisto (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) threw two hitless innings of relief.
Relief pitcher Tyler Davis picked up the win. He allowed one run on four hits in the final four innings. Schneider was tagged for six hits in five innings, walking two and fanning four.
Following today’s game, the squad will fly overnight out of Honolulu and eventually arrive back into the Savannah airport early Sunday evening. Next Saturday (Feb. 10) the Eagles open their home part of the schedule, hosting nationally-ranked Georgia Tech for a 1:30 p.m. scheduled first pitch.