STATESBORO, Ga. (3/25/22) – Justin Medlin struck out a career-high eight batters, but the Arkansas State baseball team could not overcome a five-run seventh inning to drop a 7-4 decision to Georgia Southern Friday at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Jaylon Deshazier led the Red Wolves (4-15, 0-4 SBC) with a 3-for-4 day, driving in three runs with a bases-clearing triple in the third. Friday also marked the third consecutive outing in which Medlin fired seven or more strikeouts, while he worked six in the no-decision.
Max Charlton (0-1) worked two-thirds of an innings before handing off to Phillip Bryant, who pitched the final 1 1/3 innings and allowed just two hits.
Daedrick Cail went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, while Brandon Hager tallied a career-best two hits from the designated hitter spot.
A-State touched the Eagles' (15-7, 3-1) starter Jaylen Paden for four runs in five innings, before Thomas Higgins took the ball and fired three innings of scoreless relief. Jay Thompson entered in the ninth and retired the side for his fifth save.
Jesse Sherrill and Jarrett Brown both with 3-for-4 at the dish, with Sherrill and Austin Thompson each scoring a pair of runs.
Cail led off the contest with a double, then moved around to score on a pair of wild pitches to give A-State an early 1-0 lead. The Eagles then tied it in the bottom of the second with a leadoff homer by Thompson.
A-State threatened in the top of the third, loading the bases with one out. After a flyout, Deshazier roped a 2-2 pitch the opposite way to the wall for a bases-clearing triple to give the Red Wolves a 4-1 lead.
Medlin kept the Eagles off the board until the fifth, when they added a run on an RBI ground out by Noah Ledford to make it 4-2 through five.
A-State's southpaw starter continued to hold Georgia Southern scoreless until the seventh, when five runs crossed home. Medlin was lifted for Charlton following a leadoff walk and a double by Sherrill to put runners in scoring position with nobody out. Back-to-back RBI groundouts allowed the Eagles to tie it. Two batters later, Thompson singled home Ledford for the go-ahead run.
Following a two-out walk, Bryant entered in relief. Brown then singled home Thompson and Noah Searcy to close out the night's scoring, as Bryant was not responsible for a run in his 1 1/3 innings.
NEXT UP
A-State looks to even the series with the Eagles on Saturday in Statesboro. First pitch at J.I. Clements Stadium is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+, with the radio broadcast being carried on The Ticket Radio Network stations 95.3, 96.9, 104.1 and 970 AM.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on A-State Baseball, follow the team by liking Arkansas State Baseball on Facebook, as well as following the team on Twitter (@AStateBaseball) and Instagram (astatebaseball).
