The Georgia State baseball team split a doubleheader with Northeastern on Saturday afternoon, led by a few key hits and the pitching of seniors Robinson Polanco and Will Palmer. The Panthers won game one 5-3, before falling in game two, 4-1.
Georgia State, ranked No. 24 in the latest SEBaseball.com mid-major poll, improved to 24-14 on the season and 7-4 in CAA play. Northeastern, which entered the weekend just one game behind the Panthers for second place, now stands at 19-13 and 6-5 in CAA action.
Senior Robinson Polanco (3-0) pitched the Panthers to a victory in game one, throwing a complete game seven-hitter. Polanco allowed just three runs, while striking out seven and not allowing a walk.
“Our pitching was really outstanding today,” commented head coach Greg Frady. “We wer not really able to get things going well after a very good pitching team in Northeastern, so it was even more inevitable that our pitching staff did well today. Nick Hogan played very well today and we got some key hits from Derek Simmons and Bradley Logan that really helped us in game one.”
Senior Nick Hogan led off the first game being hit by a pitch, the 24th time in his career, which moved him into a tie for second place on the all-time list. He later scored when junior Bradley Logan walked on a wild pitch as the Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
Northeastern scored their only runs of the in the bottom of the third. Frank Compagnone doubled down the right field line, scoring Ryan Maguire and tying the game. After Mike Tamsin grounded out scoring Miller, James Donaldson singled to right, scoring Compagnone and giving the Huskies a 3-1 lead.
The Panthers cut the deficit to one in the top of the sixth when senior Marc Mimeault singled up the middle, scoring Logan. Mimeault finished the game 2-for-4 with an RBI.
State took the lead in the top of the seventh as Childers singled to right, his second hit of the game, scoring Hogan and Simmons. With two more runs scored, Hogan increased his team lead to 39 on the season.
Van Horn followed with his second hit of the game, scoring Childers to give Polanco all the extra runs he would need.
Northeastern starter Ryan Quigley lasted 5.1 innings, allowing four hits and two runs, but did not factor in the decision.
Trevor Smith took the loss for the Huskies, pitching the final 3.2 innings, allowing five hits and three runs.
In game two, the Huskies held the Panthers scoreless until the eighth inning. Jeff Thomson (5-3) gave Northeastern 7.1 innings of six-hit ball, allowing just one run, a Mimeault home run in the top of the seventh. It was Mimeault's seven home run of the season.
Dan Zehr pitched the final 1.2 innings for the Huskies, allowing just one hit to earn his fourth save of the season.
Senior Will Palmer (3-3) gave the Panthers a solid outing, lasting 6.2 innings while allowing eight hits and four runs, striking out seven.
Sophomore Zach Chastain pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing just one hit.
Northeastern scored three times in the bottom of fourth to take a 3-0 lead. Frank Pesanello doubled down the line to score Tamsin for the Huskies first run. It was immediately followed by a Brendan Stokes ground out which scored Donaldson. David Gustafson singled to left to score Pesanello before Palmer got the final two outs of the inning.
Tamsin's sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth scored Miller to give Northeastern a four-run advantage.
The Panthers had a couple of late chances in the game to cut the deficit, but were not able to plate any runs.
Tomorrow's series finale will begin a half-hour earlier than scheduled at 12:30 p.m. Junior Ryan Moore (3-1, 4.65 ERA) will get the start for the Panthers.
“Tomorrow is Ryan's birthday and it is the rubber game of this series,” commented Frady. Whoever wins that game will be in a very good position in the conference race as we head toward the end of the season.”
State will continue their road trip on Tuesday as they travel to Cookeville, Tenn. to face Tennessee Tech on Tuesday and Wednesday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday with a 4 p.m. start coming on Wednesday.
