PANTHERSVILLE, Ga. ? After opening the season on an offensive tear, the Georgia State baseball team was unable to duplicate the feat when it opened Colonial Athletic Association play Friday night against James Madison. The Dukes scored nine runs in the top of the ninth to take a 16-5 win over the Panthers at The Field at Panthersville.
James Madison (6-3, 3-1 CAA) opened the game quickly, scoring five runs in the first off Georgia State starter Robinson Polanco (2-1). Brett Sellers drove in the first run with a single to right field. Steven Caseres delivered a two-run homer to extend the JMU lead. Consecutive two-out singles from Brett Garner and Mike Fabiaschi gave the visitors a 5-0 lead after the first. In the second, Sellers hit a solo shot to right center that extended JMU's lead to 6-0.
Georgia State (9-2, 0-1 CAA) got back a run when Theo Asher drew a bases-loaded walk from JMU starter Kurt Houck (1-1). Stated added a run later when Nick Hogan got hit by a pitch with the bases still loaded, drawing within 6-2.
The teams traded runs in the fifth, as JMU's Matt Townsend hit a solo home run to right field off State reliever Joel Reeves. The Panthers got the run back in the bottom of the frame when Matt Van Horn scored on Houk's wild pitch, keeping State within four at 7-3.
The Panthers rallied back for a run in the seventh. Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas extended his hitting streak to 13 games, dating back to the final two games of the 2007 season, with a single through the right side that scored Nick Hogan from second. Duke reliever John Mincone ended the Panther threat when he got Bradley Logan to ground into a double play.
State reliever Joel Reeves took over for Polanco in the fourth, and had another strong outing. The senior surrendered just one run ? the home run to Townsend in the fifth ? and scattered four hits in 4.1 innings of work. “Joel Reeves had a second straight stellar outing,” said assistant coach Brad Stromdahl. “He shut the door on JMU and gave us a chance entering the ninth inning.”
Reeves kept State within striking distance entering the ninth, as the Panthers trailed 7-4. State's relief corps ran into trouble, as the Dukes sent nine batters to the plate before reliever Will Campbell got a pop up to register the first out. By that time, JMU had scored six more runs off three State relievers. Campbell closed the ninth on a fly out to left, but with State trialing 16-4.
Pinch hitter Mitch Rider led off the bottom of the ninth, reaching on a catcher's interference call. He moved to second on Joey Wood's single up the middle while the duo moved up another 90 feet on Mincone's wild pitch. Jonathan Kolowich's pinch-hit single to right center scored Rider to make the final score 16-5.
“We did not hit as well as we have earlier this season. Houck pitched very well for JMU tonight and kept us off balance,” said Stromdahl. “We just didn't execute when we had opportunities. But tomorrow is a new day and we start with a new slate.”
Chase Childers paced the State offense, collecting two hits and scoring once. Asher, Hogan, Rochon-Salvas and Kolowich each collected an RBI for the Panthers.
The teams resume their three-game CAA series on Saturday at 1 p.m.
NOTES: For the first time in school history, Georgia State dropped its CAA opener. Previously, the Panthers defeated Northeastern in 2006 and UNC Wilmington in 2007; both games were played at Panthersville.
