ATLANTA ? The Georgia State baseball team used speed and power to sweep a non-conference doubleheader against Alabama A&M Monday at The Field at Panthersville. State stole a school-record 12 bases and belted six home runs en route to a 12-2 victory. In the second game, the Panthers batted around twice in the second inning and hit six home runs on their way to a 19-3 victory. Matt Van Horn had a career-day going 6-for-7 with four homers ? two in each game ? two doubles and 10 RBIs.
In the first game, Georgia State (23-16) started off quickly when Nick Hogan hit a solo homer to right off Alabama A&M starter Phillip Guthrie (0-1). With runners on second and third, Marc Mimeault roped a single to left to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead and keep the offense rolling.
After Alabama A&M scored another run in the top of the second to close the lead to one at 3-2, the State bats responded with a run in the bottom of the frame. A two-run homer from Matt Van Horn in the bottom of the third showed State's ability to combine power with speed.
Later in the third, the Panthers set a school record for stolen bases in a game when Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas and Bradley Logan pulled off a double steal. Logan recorded the record-breaking 11th stolen base while Chase Childers added to the mark an inning later when he swiped second. The previous record was 10 which had been reached twice, most recently against Samford on March 8, 1985.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Panther bats woke up again in the bottom of the fifth. Van Horn led off the frame with a solo homer to right center while Hogan worked a walk out of Bulldog reliever Orlando Rivera. Rochon-Salvas blasted a two-run homer down the left field line while Logan and pinch hitter Mitch Rider followed with shots of their own to right center, capping the scoring at 12-2.
The game was called due to the NCAA's 10-run rule with no outs in the bottom of the fifth after Rider's blast. State starter Adam Knight (2-3) pitched a complete game, striking out four and giving up two runs on five hits to earn the victory.
In the second game, the Panther bats heated up in the second inning after scoring just one run in the first. State scored 16 runs on nine hits, three walks and three hit by pitches. Five of the hits were home runs. Hogan belted a three-run shot, Van Horn hit a three-run homer, Jonathan Kolowich slammed a two-run shot, Rider nailed a two-run job to right center and Derek Simmons hit a solo shot to center field.
In the inning, State sent 19 batters to the plate while 13 Panthers made a plate appearance before the Bulldogs registered the first out of the inning. Even with two outs, Van Horn doubled and Kolowich homered before A&M closed out the inning.
Panther starter John Locklear (2-0) pitched four innings, giving up one run on five hits and struck out a career-high five batters to earn the win. The second game was also called after five innings due to the NCAA's 10-run rule, as Chas Skees pitched the final inning to finish the game.
On a day with many stars, Van Horn's shined the brightest. The junior went 6-for-7 with four home runs, two doubles, six runs scored and 10 RBIs. Rider belted two homers and finished with three RBIs. Hogan went 2-for-3 with two homers, three runs scored and four RBIs.
Van Horn was nearly speechless about his stellar performance. “I was just more patient at the plate and started to see the ball better,” he said humbly. “I was just trying to put the ball in play, and I was fortunate to get some good results today.”
“I am very pleased with how our team played today. We did a lot of things very well,” said head coach Greg Frady. “I played a lot of guys in this stretch of five games in three days to decrease the wear and tear on guys, and it was great to see contributions up and down the lineup.”
Georgia State continues its 15-game homestand on Wednesday, April 23, against Savannah State at 5 p.m. Wednesday's game will air on WRAS (88.5-FM).
NOTES: In game two, Bradley Logan was hit by a pitch for the 18th time in his career to move into a fifth-place tie with Chad Bailey (1996-97) for most in school history ... During game one, Nick Hogan was hit by a pitch for the 12th time this season to tie Rich Wiley (1999) for third-most in a single season ... In the first game, Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas laid down his 14th career sacrifice hit to take sole possession of seventh place in Panther history and break a tie with Michael Brand (1993-96) ... Rochon-Salvas also stole three bases in the first game to take over fourth place in Georgia State annals with 40 career stolen bases.
