Tennessee Tech scored five runs in the eighth and then added three more in the ninth inning to come from behind and beat the Georgia Southern baseball team 12-9 Sunday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium.

With the win, the Golden Eagles take the three game season opening series from GSU two games to one.

GSU jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the second after RBI hits by seniors A.J. Wirnsberger and Kevin Bowles and a three run home run by junior Kyle Blackburn.

Eagle starting pitcher Trent Franzago threw four scoreless innings before TTU managed to get three runs off him in the fifth, cutting their deficit to 8-3.Franzago would be pulled at the end of the fifth, as the GSU bullpen took over.

Four Eagle relievers would combine to give up nine earned runs on nine hits and five walks.

TTU cut the Eagles lead to four after a fielder’s choice by Chad Oberacker in the sixth, and then the Golden Eagles added five runs two innings later after three hits, a wild pitch and a passed ball set up A.J. Kirby-Jones to hammer a three-run shot off of GSU reliever Andy Moye in the top of the eighth.

That homer would give the Golden Eagles a 9-8 lead.

GSU would tie the game in the bottom of the eighth after an RBI double by junior Shawn Payne, but three more runs in the top half of the ninth would make the deficit too big to overcome for GSU, as they fell 12-9.

The Eagles will look to get back in the win column Tuesday night, when they take on in-state rival Georgia Tech at J.I. Clements Stadium.

That game will be the first of a two game series against the Yellow Jackets with first pitch for Tuesday night's game set for 6 p.m. and game two set for Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Matt Mauney