There may still be question marks, but at least Georgia Southern has its top two.

Jake Brown and Matt Murray emerged as the Eagles’ clear-cut No. 1 and No. 2 starting pitchers as GSU (8-8, 1-2 Southern Conference) took two out of three from Appalachian State in the Southern Conference opening series last weekend, and the pair pitched with authority.

Combined, Murray and Brown struck out 18 Mountaineers and walked just one on the way to just five earned runs in 13.2 innings of work.

Now, everyone else needs to fall in line.

After seven different pitchers combined for 12 earned runs and 10 walks in Sunday’s 16-12 loss to ASU (11-2, 1-2), the main focus today against Kennesaw State and Wednesday against No. 11 Clemson will be on who wants the ball.

“These next two games are going to present some opportunities for some guys that maybe haven’t pitched quite as much,” said GSU coach Rodney Hennon. “These guys will have some opportunities for the next few days to get out there and step up for us. I think right now you feel pretty good about your first two starters on the weekend. We’re looking for that third guy and we’re also looking for some other guys out of the bullpen.”

The newest challenge during weekend conference games has been a SoCon rule allowing only a 25-man roster. Cost-cutting measures – including using a two-man officiating crew as opposed to three – included bringing a 25-man team on the road to conference matchups. Home teams in turn must also select 25 to dress for league games.

Fewer players means fewer pitchers, so Hennon looks forward to evaluating the mid-week performances to give an idea of who to use on the weekend. Some of the pitching staff has already made its case.

“We’ve seen some good things there too,” Hennon said. “Colin Snow has done some good things for us of late and that’s been encouraging. In a game like Sunday’s (loss to ASU), you want to see someone come in and stop the bleeding a little bit, give yourselves a chance to get back in the game, and I think we have guys that are capable to come in and get the job done. These next five games (including the weekend road trip to Wofford), people will get the opportunity to do that, and it’ll be interesting to see who steps up.”

Justin Hess will get the nod in today’s 6 p.m. matchup with KSU. The freshman righty has appeared in two games for the Eagles, pitching 1.2 innings, allowing two hits and no earned runs.

Kennesaw (7-9) dropped seven of its first eight games, picking up an 11-6 win over SoCon member Samford on the way, but has since bounced back. The Owls won three of four at Tennessee’s tournament March 5-7 – including a 4-2 win and 3-2, 11-inning loss against the Volunteers – and have won three of the last four. They defeated Georgia 11-1 on March 9.

Franzago will get a shot at redemption Wednesday against Clemson at 6:30 p.m. He faced only six batters in Sunday’s start against ASU, allowing five hits and four earned runs.

The No. 11 Tigers (13-1) are coming off a three-game sweep of North Carolina State. They outscored the Wolfpack 31-19 in the series. They face Charlotte on the road today before returning home for Wednesday’s date with GSU.

Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.