Fans, scouts and even coaches caught their first glimpse of this year’s Georgia Southern University baseball team in action this weekend.

The team held three inter-squad scrimmages over the weekend, with the starting position players hitting against the starting pitchers and the second string players hitting against the backup pitchers. This was the first live pitching the team has seen in a real game environment this year.

“It’s very important for us to have these scrimmages,” head coach Rodney Hennon said. “Today, for instance, we moved some guys around just to try to get a feel for what they can do to try to define some roles before opening day.”

Opening weekend for the Eagles will be a three-game home stand beginning Feb. 17 at home against University of Tennessee-Martin. The defending Southern Conference Champions are aiming to continue the success they experienced last year.

“We are a long way away from that right now, and certainly I think we are capable of doing that, but I think the most important thing is just for us to focus on getting better and trying to be as good as we can be on February seventeenth.”

In order for the team to be as good as it can be, it is going to need some younger guys to pull through on the mound. Two of the team’s four starters, not to mention the two with the lowest ERAs, Andy Moye and Matt Murray, graduated last year leaving quite a hole in the GSU pitching staff. Pressure will be placed on younger players like junior Justin Hess and sophomore Will Middour to perform, in addition to the two returning starters, junior Chris Beck and senior Josh Adams.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys that are going to contribute and have an opportunity to play this year, and the good thing is that we have some veteran guys around that are going to help them adjust to this level of competition. They all have a great work ethic and want to continue to get better,” Hennon said.

Some of those veteran players Hennon spoke of include SoCon All-Tournament Team Shortstop Eric Phillips, SoCon All-Tournament Team Designated Hitter Michael Burruss, and Pre-Season All-American Outfielder Victor Roache. All of thye tema’s players will need to continue to make a big impact, not only with their bats but also in the field. GSU finished last year with impressive defensive statistics but needs to work on its ability to make the plays every time, every game.

When asked what the one thing he has been working on with his team from last year to this year, Hennon simply said, “consistency.”