After playing a pair of extra inning affairs, the Georgia State baseball team got things done in nine innings Sunday, earning a 12-9 win over William & Mary in Williamsburg. State opened CAA play taking two of three in the series.
The Panthers (14-7, 2-1 CAA) played their third wild game with the Tribe (6-13, 1-2 CAA), as after leading 4-1 early, needed a strong performance from the bullpen and some late runs to get the win.
“It feels great play well on the road and come away with this series,” commented head coach Greg Frady. “I think our non-conference schedule, including some doubleheaders and some tough rough contests, helped us to bounce back with some confidence today.”
State got on the board quickly in the first as senior Nick Hogan continued his hot play from last night, leading the game off with a single to the shortstop. Hogan would quickly score as senior Derek Simmons singled to center to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage. Junior Bradley Logan would late single home junior Carl Moniz, who had reached on a fielder's choice, as State took an early 2-0 lead.
“It was huge for us to come out and score some runs in the first inning,” stated Frady. “We wanted to quickly establish ourselves and even though they quickly answered, we showed tremendous maturity to continue to answer with runs when we needed them.”
Hogan finished the day 2-for-5 with two runs score and two RBIs after going 4-for-6 in Saturday afternoon's 15-inning affair.
Moniz extended his hitting streak to 12 games, going 2-for-5 at the plate with a pair of runs scored.
After William & Mary got one back in the bottom of the first, State scored two more in the top of the second as Hogan hit a two run home run over the right field wall. It was Hogan's first home run of the season.
The Tribe would quickly get to starter Ryan Moore in the bottom of the second, plating six runs to take a 7-4 lead. Moore lasted 2.0 innings, allowing seven runs, six earned, while walking four, but would not figure into the decision.
State quickly came back in the top of the third and tied the game at seven as Moniz walked with the bases loaded, plating the final run of the inning.
The Tribe's Matt Davenport would be relieved during the third inning by Chris Yates (0-2) who earned the loss. Davenport allowed five hits, giving up six runs, all earned, while walking four.
Freshman Nick Squeglia (2-0) pitched 4.2 innings of relief for State, scattering six hits and giving up just two runs, a day after the Panther bullpen was taxed, pitching ten innings of relief.
“He was really the man of the hour,” commented Frady. “He did a great job to shut them down after they had a big second inning.”
State took a two-run lead in the top of the fourth as senior Theo Asher and freshman Justin Malone each drove in a run.
The Panthers would score one more in the top of the sixth and two more in the top of the seventh, capped by a Matt Van Horn double to right-center, scoring senior Marc Mimeault.
“Marc continued to show his senior leadership this weekend,” commented Frady. “He caught every single inning for us and came to me wanting to help us win the series today when many others would have asked for a day off after catching 15 innings yesterday.”
Malone finished the game 1-for-3 with two runs score and two RBIs.
Van Horn went 3-for-4 at the plate, scoring a pair of runs, while Mimeault scored three runs.
Senior John Locklear earned his first save of the season after pitching the final 2.1 innings, allowing just three hits and no runs.
“John pitched two beautiful innings for us and really shut them down to help preserve the win,” commented Frady.
The Panthers will return to Atlanta for a game against cross-town rival Georgia Tech next Tuesday at Russ Chandler Field, first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports South and on radio on WRAS-FM 88.5. Dave Cohen will be joined by Rusty Bennett in the radio booth.
