NORFOLK, Va. ? A day after faltering in the late innings, the Georgia State baseball team scored four runs in the seventh including a two-run single from Bradley Logan that gave State a 5-4 lead. Logan got to play hero again in the bottom of the ninth, exchanging his fielder's glove for a spot on the mound. Logan struck out pinch hitter John Malbon to record the save, and give State a come-from-behind 6-4 win over Old Dominion.
Georgia State (30-21, 10-15 Colonial Athletic Association) got on the board first with a two-run bomb from Marc Mimeault in the fourth. Old Dominion (23-22, 13-11 CAA) answered back quickly in the bottom of the frame, scoring four runs off State starter Will Palmer. A balk and throwing error by Mimeault brought in the first two runs, but ODU took a 4-2 lead on a two-run home run from Jake McAloose.
With his team trailing by two, Mimeault led off the frame with a single. Dusty Bennett and Jonathan Kolowich followed with singles to load the bases and put ODU starter Anthony Shawler (5-3) in a pickle. Shawler settled down and got two outs, but walked Chase Childers to close the margin to 4-3. Bradley Logan dropped a single into centerfield, giving the Panthers a 5-4 lead. Shawler gave up an RBI single to Derek Simmons, capping State's scoring in the inning, before making a pitching change.
The Panthers pulled off a double steal against Monarch reliever Kyle Hald before pinch hitter Mike McCree worked a walk out of the situation to load the bases again. State was unable to extend its two-run lead any further, as Hald registered a fly out to end the inning.
After making quick work of ODU in the eighth and rapidly recording the first two outs in the ninth, Palmer (4-2) ran into some trouble. A fielding error extended the inning while Palmer gave up a single and walked the bases loaded before the Panthers made a call to the bullpen.
State brought in Logan to close out the game after ODU announced right-hander John Malbon as the pinch hitter. Logan got Malbon to chase a pitch to finish the game with a strikeout, while picking up his first career save.
“He pitched outstanding and he had a really tough match up against [Anthony] Shawler, who is one of the top pitchers in this league,” head coach Greg Frady said about Palmer. “Today, Will pitched like he's one of the top pitchers in the conference.”
The Panther offense started slowly, but its patience paid off down the stretch. “We didn't get off to a good start, but Marc Mimeault hit a two-run home run that jumped started our batters,” Frady said. “It was a big team effort though. Bradley Logan had a huge two-out RBI that gave us the lead, and Derek Simmons continued to play well for us offensively.”
State's run production came from the bottom of its lineup, as seven-hole hitter Mimeault led the charge going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Bennett went 2-for-4 and scored the tying run in the seventh. Simmons went 2-for-4 with a run scored and the insurance RBI in the seventh. Logan collected just one hit on the day, but his single drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh.
The teams conclude their three-game CAA series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
NOTES: Bradley Logan extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a single in the seventh ... Logan's single in the seventh was his 76th of the season, tying Dustin Phillips (2002-03) for fourth place on State's single-season list and putting him one shy of tying the record ... In the third, Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas walked for the 84th time in his career to surpass Rob Loeb (1993-95) for sole possession of fourth place in Panther history ... In the ninth, Chase Childers executed his 19th career sacrifice bunt to tie Eric Suttle (2004-07) for third in school history.
