April 10, 2012 Alex Brown

d.alex.brown@gmail.com

    That’s more like it.
    Georgia Southern baseball got the spark it needed this weekend as the Eagles swept Davidson on the road to get back on track in SoCon play. Southern has now beaten the Wildcats 13 consecutive times.
    As of the end of the Davidson series, the Eagles have won five straight games and seven of their last nine. Georgia Southern improved to 18-15 on the season and now has a winning record in conference play with an 8-7 mark.
    First-place Appalachian State comes to J.I. Clements Stadium this weekend. To say this series is a big one would be an understatement. Gaining ground on a team at the top of the conference would be huge for the Eagles, and this weekend is a golden opportunity to do just that.
    App State is currently 24-6 and 9-3 in SoCon play. The Mountaineers are coming off a series win over the College of Charleston, where they took two out of three from the Cougars in Boone, N.C.
    Over the past several years, Appalachian has been really good at loading up their non-conference schedule with powder puff teams to make their record look better.  But this year, it looks like they actually made an effort to put some meat on their schedule.
    And give them some credit: They took two of three at LSU and beat ACC member Duke. They lost a close game at South Carolina, but they have taken care of the teams they are supposed to beat, including Rider, Akron and conference foes Davidson and The Citadel.
    The Mountaineers have won eight of their last 11 games dating back to a SoCon series loss at Elon in late March. Georgia Southern needs to stay hot and win this series to stay within striking distance of the SoCon leaders.
    This weekend’s series is part of a Blue and White weekend at Georgia Southern. Baseball plays Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Saturday’s game will be preceded by a free tailgate beginning at 4:30 p.m.
    But Saturday’s events begin across campus at Paulson Stadium, as Georgia Southern football concludes its spring practices with the annual Blue-White game at 1 p.m.
    This will be a great opportunity for Eagle fans to watch the quarterback battle between Ezayi Youyoute and Jerick McKinnon firsthand. It will also be a chance to see some of the up-and-coming players who will contribute over the coming seasons.
    Of course, it’s always nice to get a Georgia Southern football fix during the long offseason, and it never hurts to brush up on your tailgating skills to make sure you’re ready for the season opener on September 1.
    But wait, there’s more. Not only is baseball playing a huge series at home and football holding its Blue-White game, but Georgia Southern softball is hosting the College of Charleston over the weekend.
    The Eagles and Cougars will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 3 p.m., followed by the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. Georgia Southern is currently in first place in the SoCon, and Charleston sits in third — so, needless to say, this series is huge.
    In addition to all of the on-field action, the Eagle Football Alumni Association is holding its annual Reverse Raffle and Auction this weekend to raise money for football scholarships at Georgia Southern. Tickets are $100 per couple, and the event begins at 6 p.m. Saturday.
    This is a great weekend to take advantage of the picture-perfect weather and get out and support our Eagles. It will be a busy, blue-and-white-filled weekend, and it doesn’t get much better than that.

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