DECATUR, GA. - Georgia Southern Baseball dropped the opener at Georgia State 9-7 on Thursday night. Georgia State's leadoff hitter Joe Blanton hit two home runs including an eighth inning grand slam that proved to be the difference. The Eagles trailed early, but took the lead in the seventh with a five-run frame that featured five hits and two walks. The Eagles and Panthers tangle again on Friday night at 6 p.m.
The win lifts Georgia State out of the Sun Belt East Division cellar and past Appalachian State at 9-19 in the league. The Panthers would be the No. 10 seed for the Sun Belt Championships in Statesboro if the season ended today. Georgia Southern falls to 35-19 overall and 17-11 in league play. The Eagles fall a half game behind Louisiana in the race for the No. 5 seed in the postseason.
SCORING PLAYS
Bot 1st - GS 0 - GAST 2 - Georgia State blasted its way to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a leadoff home run followed by two hits and a sacrifice fly.
Top 5th - GS 1 - GAST 2 - After going hitless for the first four frames,
Mason McWhorter ended the no-hit bid with a single on the first pitch of the fifth inning. An
Evan McDonald single to center drove in the run to make it a 2-1 game.
Bot 5th - GS 1 - GAST 4 - Two runs off three hits in the fifth made it a 4-1 advantage for the Panthers. The first run came via a sacrifice fly while a double to left drove in the inning's second run.
Top 6th - GS 2 - GAST 4 - Logan Baldwin hit his third home run of the season, a no doubter to right field which left the park in a hurry to make it a 4-2 game in the sixth.
Bot 6th - GS 2 - GAST 5 - A leadoff single by the Panthers was backed up with a two out double to tack on another run and extend the State lead to 5-2.
Top 7th - GS 7 - GAST 5 - Singles by
Mitchell Golden and
C.J. Brazil set the tables for the Eagles to post a big inning. After a one out walk to leadoff hitter
Steven Curry, Baldwin singled through the left side for his second RBI of the game.
Tyler Martin cut the lead to 5-4 with a single through the left side.
Ryan Cleveland drove in two more with a single to left. An excellent jump by Baldwin allowed him to score on the play and give the Eagles the lead at 6-5. A sacrifice fly from
Mason McWhorter tacked on another run to make the lead 7-5.
Bot 8th - GS 7 - GAST 9 - Georgia State loaded the bases on two hits and a walk against relief pitcher
Connor Simmons before
Landon Hughes got the call with no outs. The senior fireballer got a strikeout, but allowed a grand slam to give the Panthers a 9-7 lead.
GAME NOTES
-
Logan Baldwin went 2-for-5 on the day as he was moved up to the No. 2 hole in the lineup. He drove in two runs and scored two runs for the Eagles.
- Senior catcher
C.J. Brazil went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt and a run scored in the game. His second hit of the contest was a bunt single to the left side that he beat out for a hit.
- Starting pitcher
Evan Challenger had a shaky start, allowing three-straight hits to open the game. The senior settled down, going four and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs off eight hits with three strikeouts.
- Reliever
Connor Simmons was handed his first loss of the season, loading the bases in the eighth. He fell to 4-1 on the year after the grand slam later in the frame.
- Georgia State's runs in the eighth broke Georgia Southern's 26-0 mark when leading after seven innings. It was just the team's fourth loss this season when scoring six or more runs. The last time the Eagles fell when scoring six or more was March 18th in game two against South Alabama.
NEXT UP
Georgia Southern and Georgia State return to the diamond on Friday evening at 6 p.m. for game two of the final regular season series of 2017. Saturday's regular season finale is set for 2 p.m. at the Georgia State Sports Complex in Decatur.
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