Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- After a solid start to the game, things rapidly unraveled for the third-seeded Elon Phoenix which dropped its 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament opener to sixth-seeded Georgia Southern on Wednesday afternoon by a 19-2 score.

With went scoreless into the last of the fourth when Jake Luce led off with a single and raced around to score on an Alex Swim triple.  The Phoenix (31-25) could not push across another run that inning and Georgia Southern starter Chris Beck settled in, retiring the next 12 hitters.

Georgia Southern (31-26) did the majority of its damage in the fifth inning, scoring six runs on seven hits.  The Eagles had three consecutive hits to start the inning to tie it at one before Brent Pugh's one-out single drove in two to put GSU in front for good.

The Eagles tacked on an unearned run in the sixth, two in the seventh, another nine runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth.

Michael Elefante homered to lead off the bottom of the ninth for the Phoenix, his second homer of the year.

Dylan Clark (9-4) took the loss as he allowed five runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings.

Beck (6-7) was the winner, giving up just one run on five hits in seven innings.  He struck out six.

Swim's triple was his 82nd hit of the season, the seventh-highest single-season total in program history.  He upped his career hits total to 218, two away from moving into a tie for ninth in school history.

Elon will now play second-seeded College of Charleston at 10 a.m. on Thursday in an elimination game.