Box Score

ELON, N.C. -- Elon suffered its first Southern Conference loss on a Friday this season as the Phoenix fell by a 6-3 margin in the first game of a three-game league series at Georgia Southern.

Georgia Southern (23-15, 12-4 SoCon) jumped on top early, scoring three times in the first inning.  Shawn Payne started things off with a single to left before Michael Burruss was plunked and Eric Phillips walked.  A passed ball on a strike out let Payne score the first run of the game.  With runners on second and third, Steve Cochrane's ground ball to first was booted, allowing Burruss to score before a Garren Palmer bunt single plated Phillips to make it a 3-0 game.

With runners on the corners with two outs in the top of the second, Ryan Kinsella broke for second and got caught in a run-down long enough for Alex Swim to score from third to get Elon (25-15, 14-5) on the board.

The Eagles got that run back in the bottom half.  With one out, Payne singled up the middle and beat a play at second as Burruss reached on a fielder's choice.  After Payne stole third, Phillips grounded a ball through the right side to plate Payne.

Back-to-back walks to Garren Palmer and Tom Richardson were followed by consecutive sac bunts, the second by Brent Pugh, to score another run and make it a 5-1 Eagle lead after three innings.

Jake Luce battled and sent the 10th pitch of the at bat to the wall in right-center for a double that was misplayed letting him take third to start the fourth inning for Elon.  He then scored on a Neal Pritchard ground out.  With two down, Kinsella lifted a fly ball down the left field line that was dropped and Kinsella ended up on second.  Sebastian Gomez picked up a RBI with a grounder through the right side that drove home Kinsella as the Phoenix closed its deficit to 5-3.

GSU put runners on second and third with two outs in the fifth when Gomez made a sliding stop on a grounder off the bat of Burruss, but the throw was dropped at first and Tom Richardson scored to make it a 6-3 game.

Elon threatened in the top of the ninth as Swim led off with a single and went to third on a one-out error that allowed Gomez to reach before Matt Murray struck out the next two Phoenix hitters to end the threat.

Ken Ferrer (4-3) took the loss after giving up six runs (four earned) on seven hits in five innings.  The duo of Brad MacHaffie and Greg Amorosso tossed a combined three scoreless innings, extending the Elon bullpen's streak to 32.1 innings of scoreless ball.

Chris Beck (6-1) was the winning pitcher after he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits in seven frames.  Murray tossed the final two innings for his seventh save.

Swim recorded two of Elon's six hits, going 2-for-4 with a run scored on the night.

Both Payne (2-for-4, two runs) and Phillips (2-for-4, one run, one RBI) had two of GSU's eight hits.  The Phoenix held Victor Roache to an 0-for-4 night, snapping his streak of games with a homer at five.  Roache leads the nation with 18 homers.

Elon will look to even the series at a game apiece as the two squads will meet at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.