ATLANTA?The most successful baseball season in Georgia State history ended Saturday as the Panthers fell to Elon, 4-3, and were eliminated from the NCAA Atlanta Regional before 1,261 at Georgia Tech's Russ Chandler Stadium.
Georgia State (39-22), the No. 4 seed in the Regional, finished with a school-record 39 victories, including 13 wins in its last 17 games, its first Colonial Athletic Association championship and its first NCAA Regional berth.
Second-seeded Elon (41-17) stayed alive in the double elimination bracket to face the loser of tonight's Georgia Tech-Southern Miss game on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Elon's Cory Harrichak broke a 3-3 tie with a solo home run to lead off the sixth inning, and starter Jimmy Reyes struck out 14 in eight innings of work. The sophomore lefthander allowed three runs on eight hits and walked just one to improve to 8-0 on the season.
In the ninth inning for State, Marc Mimeault led off with a single off reliever Daniel Britt and Brandon Williams bunted him over to second to give the Panthers two chances to get the tying run in. Carl Moniz missed a double down the right field line by inches and then hit a line drive to right center for the second out, and Michael McCree grounded out to third to end the rally.
Derek Simmons homered for Georgia State, while Nick Hogan and Michael McCree contributed two hits each.
"By no means are satisfied with just being here because we had chances to win both games, but I'm proud of our team," said Georgia State head coach Greg Frady. "We played well today, and we had our chances with runners in the right positions, but we just didn't get the big hit. But our kids left it all on the field.
"That's a great offensive team, and their pitcher did a great job," continued Frady of Elon, which leads the nation in home runs. "We had the bad luck of facing two aces in this tournament.
"To play in our first regional against two Top 25 teams, facing two pitchers like that, is a great learning experience for us."
Elon jumped on the board with three runs in the first inning on an RBI-double by Pat Irvine and a two-run homer by Bennett Davis, his fourth round-tripper in two games.
The Panthers answered in their first at-bat as Simmons belted 13th homer, a solo shot to right center. Bradley Logan followed with a two-out single, and then scored on Matt Van Horn's opposite field, bloop double, pulling Georgia State within 3-2 after one.
Georgia State then tied the game at 3-all as Logan's groundout brought home Nick Hogan, who led off the inning with a single.
Georgia State starter Ryan Moore (7-2) took the loss, just his second of the season, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out four and walking none.
Britt earned his second save for Elon.
Post-game Notes
GEORGIASTATE(39-22)
? Starting pitcher Ryan Moore, who allowed four runs in seven innings, suffered his first loss since March 6 vs. Xavier (a streak of 10 starts without a loss).
? RF Matt Van Horn played in his 60th game of the season today, setting a new Georgia State record.
? Georgia Stateplayed its 61st game today, a school record.
? DH Derek Simmons hit his 13th home run of the season, moving him into a tie for 9th place on the school single-season list.
? LF Michael McCree extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
? 3B Marc Mimeault's fourth-inning double gave him 77 hits for the season, tying him for second on Georgia State's single-season list. The school record is held by Bradley Logan (85 in 2008).
GEORGIASTATE POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Greg Frady, Opening Statement:
"I'm disappointed. I'm proud. By no means are we satisfied, or we're happy, that we lost. Please don't interpret it that way, because we were actually very upset yesterday that we had an opportunity to win the game and a couple of pitches got away from us that changed the complexion of the game. But today I thought we played very well. We played as solid and as good baseball as we can play. We made pitches, we played defense and I thought we attacked the ball. That's a great offensive team we played today. We wound up having more hits than they did. I thought it was an extremely well-played game. We had runners in the right positions ? we just didn't get the big hit. It was not from a lack of effort. I really feel this way to the bottom of my heart: Our kids gave everything they had, and they left it all on the field. There is a tremendous amount of respect for the Elon club on the other side. That's an outstanding club, a top-25 team, but I think you got to see what our team is capable of today, as well."
On facing back-to-back pitching aces from Georgia Tech and Elon:
"That's regional baseball. This is my fifth regional as a coach; that's regional baseball ? somewhat unfortunate. You all know, pretty much, what (Georgia Tech's) Deck McGuire can do ? he's outstanding. He's not a first-team All-American and the ACC Pitcher of the Year for nothing. But I thought we competed well against him. The Elon coaching staff told me before the game that they really felt like the lefty (Jimmy Reyes) was the best matchup in game two. If they were fortunate enough to advance then it would be a great matchup in a winner's bracket game. If not, it would be a situation where they could rely on him. I thought the guy did a fantastic job out there today. He is a very good pitcher. I think it was somewhat bad luck that we got two aces like that ? back-to-back ? but, if we are going to play in our first regional and play two top-25 teams with pitchers like that, it's a good experience for our kids."
On if he would have taken having four runs scored by Elon after 17 runs by the Phoenix the day before:
"Absolutely, and there isn't a team in this tournament that wouldn't take that, too. Georgia Tech and Southern Miss would both take that. I thought we did an outstanding job pitching against those guys today. I can't say enough great things about Marc Mimeault. We've worked together very well since he's been here. We were on a great page today in pitch-calling, but our guys ? Ryan Moore and Justin Malone ? did a great job of executing. Elon is not a good hitting team ? Elon is an outstanding hitting team. Those guys can really swing it. Getting them slowed down was a great accomplishment."
#44 Bradley Logan, 1B
On what Elon P Jimmy Reyes did against them:
"He's a great pitcher. He's their best pitcher on a top-25 team, and anytime you face a guy like that, you just don't want him to settle in. We got a couple of runs early, and I think he kind of settled in during the next part of the game, and it was tough for our hitters to make an adjustment. He made a great adjustment, and they started throwing differently than they did the first couple of innings. We just took a little while to get adjusted to it. The first couple of innings, he used a lot of breaking balls and staying away. The second and third time through the lineup, he was coming hard in and used his changeup a lot more. That gave us a little bit of trouble."
On C Marc Mimeault:
"Marc is not only fantastic behind the plate, he's one of my bestfriends. You couldn't ask for a better person, a better leader or abetter catcher on anybody's team ? I don't care, top-25, it doesn't matter. Marc would fit in anywhere. It's my second year with him, and heholds the pitching staff down, and he's a tremendous hitter, leader, and he keeps everybody calm. His presence makes us a lot better."
#34 Marc Mimeault, C
On his career at Georgia State:
"It's great to be a senior and be able to play in the regionals in my last year of baseball, most likely. It's just a tremendous job by thiswhole team. Everybody gave great effort this whole year, and it's testimony to how hard we worked, and how hard we want to play. We're never out until the game is over. It's a great honor to be on this team as a senior right now."
