PANTHERSVILLE, Ga. ? The Georgia State baseball team got behind in the first inning for the second straight game against James Madison in Colonial Athletic Association play. The Dukes took a 1-0 lead in the first and never looked back, taking a 5-1 decision over the Panthers at The Field at Panthersville Saturday afternoon.
James Madison (7-3, 4-1 CAA) got on the board first, scoring a run in the first on Brett Sellers' RBI ground out. The Dukes added to their lead in the third off Panther starter Kenny Camp (1-1) when Alex Foltz hit a fly ball to left field that carried out with a strong wind, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead.
JMU took advantage of a strong wind blowing out in the fifth, as Joe Lake led off the inning with a solo homer to right. The Panthers (9-3, 0-2 CAA) answered with a run of their own in the fifth when Mike McCree's infield single scored Bradley Logan from third.
The Dukes pushed across another run in the eighth when the Panthers committed three errors. Fortunately, catcher Marc Mimeault picked off Chris Johnson at third to get State out of the inning without any further harm done.
The Panther offense was unable to string together consecutive hits until the eighth inning when Rochon-Salvas led off with an infield single followed by Rider's double to left center, unfortunately Rochon-Salvas was caught stealing before Rider's hit.
The tale of the game was pitching, as JMU got seven quality innings from starter Justin Wood (1-0) and used three relievers to preserve the lead late in the game. Wood surrendered one run on six hits and struck out six Panther batters.
For State, Camp went 6.1 innings and gave up four runs on eight hits while striking out five JMU batters. Reliever John Locklear entered in the seventh and threw the final 2.2 innings, giving up one unearned run on three hits.
“Kenny Camp did a good enough job, but we're struggling offensively. We need to be more aggressive at the plate and put the ball in play,” said assistant coach Bobby Perez. “Wood did a good job of mixing his pitches, and we did not make all the necessary adjustments.”
State had three batters collect two hits: Mitch Rider, Bradley Logan and Derek Simmons. McCree drove in the lone Panther run.
The teams conclude their CAA series on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
NOTES: Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas collected his 637th career at bat in the 8th inning, taking over seventh place in school history and passing Ryan Sterling (2003-06) ... Rochon-Salvas extended his hitting streak to 14 games in the eighth with an infield single ... Head coach Greg Frady's German National Team defeated Spain 1-0 in the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament earlier in the day.
