Georgia Southern Falls in Series Finale to Georgia State, 5-4

Saturday, May 19

3 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

29-24, 18-11

Georgia State

26-28, 10-19

Georgia State

Georgia Southern

Photo by: AJ Henderson - Georgia Southern Athletics

Georgia Southern Falls in Series Finale to Georgia State, 5-4

5/19/2018 7:31:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Eagles enter the Sun Belt Tournament as the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, facing South Alabama on Wednesday at 10 a.m. (ET) / 9 a.m. (CT)

BOX SCORE (PDF) | SENIOR DAY PHOTO GALLERY

STATESBORO - Georgia Southern dropped a 5-4 decision on Saturday afternoon to Georgia State, committing two errors in a decisive ninth inning. State held an early 3-0 lead, but the Eagles took the lead with two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth at 4-3. Georgia State, however, got a run in the eighth to tie the game and stranded the bases full of Eagles in the home half of the inning before taking the lead in the ninth for the win.

Next up for Georgia Southern is the 2018 Sun Belt Tournament in Lafayette, Louisiana. The Eagles will open with South Alabama in the opening game of double elimination play and look to make their third-straight trip to the Championship Game.

CRUICIAL MOMENTS
Top 3rd - Georgia State got the scoring started in the third inning, playing small ball after a leadoff double to get the first run around to third. A single up the middle gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Top 4th - A leadoff walk to open the fourth came around for State's second run in the fourth. A throwing error with two outs in the inning allowed the run to score and push the lead to 2-0.
Top 5th - Nick Gatewood hit a one out home run to left center, to make it a 3-0 lead for Georgia State as the visitors scored runs in back-to-back-to-back innings.
Bottom 5th - A leadoff walk, a hit batter and a second walk in the fifth loaded the bases with one out. Austin Thompson drove in Steven Curry and Jason Swan with a single through the right side of the infield to plate two and cut the lead to 3-2.
Bottom 6th - The Eagles grabbed the momentum in the sixth inning, plating two more runs thanks to a Georgia State throwing error. Mason McWhorter and Christian Avant both singled and scored in the inning. The go-ahead run scored on Blake Simmons' RBI ground ball to third.
Top 8th - A one out walk and a single put runners on first and second for the Panthers. A single to right would have loaded the bases, but the Panthers sent the runner from third where he was thrown out by Avant to Anderson for the second out of the inning. A third-straight single tied the game at 4-4 as the run came home from third.
Bottom 8th - A single, walk and a hit batter loaded the bases for Tyler Martin as the Eagles looked poised to re-take the lead. Georgia State turned to Thursday night's starting pitcher Hunter Gaddis who threw 65 pitches on Friday night. Gaddis struck out Martin on three pitches as the Eagles left the bases loaded heading to the ninth inning.
Top 9th - Fielding was the bugaboo for the Eagles in the ninth, allowing the go-ahead run to reach on a throwing error by Austin Thompson. The Panthers sacrificed the runner to second and an intentional walk re-established the force with one out. A wild pitch moved the runners up, but a strikeout reduced the Panthers to their final out in the frame. A ground ball to third was misplayed by Blake Simmons, allowing the go-ahead run to score from third, giving State a 5-4 lead.
Bottom 9th - Gaddis came back out for Georgia State in the ninth inning and retired 5-6-7 batters in the lineup on strikes to finish off the 2018 regular season.

GAME NOTES
- Before the game, Georgia Southern Baseball honored seniors Matt Geiger and Chandler Corley as well as graduate manager Dickson Wharton.
- Austin Thompson went 2-for-4 on Saturday, driving in a pair of runs to extend his hit streak to nine-straight games. That streak is the longest for any Eagle this season.
- Steven Curry was hit by a pitch on Saturday, marking his 22nd HBP this year. He sits third in single season hit by pitches, two shy of Griffin Benedict's 2009 school record.
- Cole Whitney made the start for the Eagles, working two innings and allowing no runs on one hit on a controlled start with the postseason just four days away.
- Lawson Humphries took the loss, working an inning and a third in relief. He did not allow a hit and was a victim of two errors to allow the unearned run. He falls to 0-1 on the year.
- Georgia Southern's series win gives the Eagles their final regular season point in the 2017-18 Southern vs. State Rivalry Series.
- The win for Georgia State earns the Panthers a spot in the Sun Belt Tournament.

UP NEXT
Georgia Southern enters the 2018 Sun Belt Tournament as the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, opening the tournament against South Alabama at 9 a.m. (CT) / 10 a.m. (ET). Should the Jaguars take the series finale over Troy, the Eagles would fall to the No. 5 seed, but a win by Troy would make the Eagles the home side for the opening game.

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