Cam Shepherd’s mission was clear as he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in a tie game and one out in Sunday’s series finale against Georgia Southern – get the ball in the air any way he could.

That’s just what he did, flying out deep to right field, scoring pinch-runner Cole Tate to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 walk-off victory before a Foley Field crowd of 2,605.

“All I had to do was get the ball in the air and Tate over there was going to do the rest,” Shepherd said. “We found out who we are. We’re never going to stop fighting, two, three, this team won’t stop fighting and we’re going to come away with some Ws.”

Keegan McGovern, who moments earlier drew a bases-loaded walk to the game, had a birds-eye view of the celebration that followed.

“Man, that was awesome,” McGovern said. “Then everybody started coming out of the dugout, hooting and hollering. That was a really awesome, awesome moment.”

McGovern actually accounted for three of the Bulldogs’ four runs, homering in the seventh to put Georgia up 2-0 before the Eagles rallied with two in the eighth to go up 3-2.

The eighth inning saw the Bulldogs (2-1) go down in order, but in the ninth Patrick Sullivan led off with a single and after a fielding error by Eagle pitcher Cole Whitney (0-1) put runners at first and second, Tucker Maxwell sacrificed both runners up 90 feet for lead off hitter Tucker Bradley.

The Eagles turned to lefty Hayden Harris who walked Bradley and went 2-0 on McGovern before Eagle coach Rodney Hennon turned to righty Braxton Johnson who went 3-1, before walking the Bulldog left fielder for the tying run setting up Shepherd for the game-winner.

Bulldog starting pitcher Chase Adkins was also part of Sunday’s story.

The senior was tremendous.

At the one point, the senior retired 15 straight batters before Mitchell Golden’s two-out double in the sixth. Adkins was able to keep him right there, getting Jason Swan on a flyout to end the inning.

Otherwise, Adkins was nearly untouchable, allowing just two hits with one walk and eight strikeouts before reaching his pitch count and being replaced by Tim Elliott to start the seventh.

“That’s probably the second-best I’ve seen him look, last year against Vanderbilt he was really good,” Bulldog skipper Scott Stricklin said. “That was one of the best outings he had. Two, three weeks from now he’s going out there for another inning, maybe two, but he had a pitch count. We need these guys in May and June so we’re not going to stretch anybody right now.”

Adkins used a five-pitch arsenal to bamboozle Eagle hitters, who he also spun six shutout innings against during last year’s series opener in Statesboro.

“That’s usually what I try to do every time,” Adkins said. “I’ve got five pitches, I throw all five for strikes. I’d better win if all that’s working.”

Eagle freshman David Johnson wound up matching zeros with Adkins, although he had to escape a major jam in the first to get it done.

The Bulldogs loaded the bases on leadoff singles by Bradley and McGovern and seemed to be in business when Shepherd walked bringing up Michael Curry.

However, not a runner moved.

Following a strikeout of Curry, Aaron Schunk hit a dribbler that Johnson fielded and forced Bradley at the plate before CJ Talley flew out ending the inning.

The Bulldogs stranded two more runners in the second, but after that managed just two runners after that before Griffin Davis took over to start the seventh.

After McGovern’s homer put Georgia up in the seventh, the Eagles bounced right back the next inning, loading the bases with nobody out against Tony Locey before Stricklin turned to Zac Kristofak to try and accomplish what Johnson did in the first – escape with no damage.

It was not to be.

Georgia Southern struck for three runs – all charged to Locey – to go up by one heading to the bottom of the eighth before Kristofak escaped further damage then pitched a perfect ninth an ultimately get credit for the win.”

NEXT UP: The Bulldogs travel to Kennesaw State on Wednesday before returning home Friday for the start of a three-game series against Charlotte.