WOODSTOCK, Ga. -- Freshman McCall Langford pitched a complete game and the Georgia State bats came alive as the Panthers beat No. 23 (ESPN.com/USA Softball) Kentucky, 7-1, in the nightcap of day one of the Buzz Classic. GSU (10-4) is now 2-0 against the SEC this season and 2-0 against the Wildcats all-time.
Freshman Paige Nowacki went 3-for-4 on the day providing a double in game one against North Florida and a solo homer and single in game two. Nowacki now has three home runs on the season, all solo shots.
Earlier in the day, North Florida beat the Panthers 4-0.
Georgia State returns to action at the Buzz Classic tomorrow when they face off against Bowling Green (1 p.m.) and Dartmouth (6 p.m.). Both games should be available via LiveStats on georgiastatesports.com.
Game One - North Florida 4, Georgia State 1
North Florida pitcher Devyn Findley recorded a five-hit shutout as the Ospreys knocked off Georgia State, 4-0, in game one of the Buzz Classic.
The Ospreys' scored what turned out to be the winning runs in the first inning. After a pair of batters reached base on starting pitcher Alana Thomas (3-1), a muffed fly ball by right fielder Audrey Mason allowed two runners to score. UNF later tacked on two more runs to push the lead to 4-0.
The Panthers struggled at the plate all game only reaching base seven times, while striking out seven times. No Panther' batter had more than one hit. Poor defense also hindered GSU as they committed four errors, which directly led to three runs.
Leading the way for UNF was Britanie Block, who was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Caroline Torre had the lone Osprey' RBI. Findley (4-7) struck out seven while allowing only five hits in picking up the complete-game shut out.
Thomas allowed three runs on seven hits and was relieved by sophomore Erin Collins in the fourth inning. Collins pitched 3.1 perfect innings in relief, as the only run during her time in the circle was scored due to three errors by Panther' defenders.
Game Two - Georgia State 7, No. 23 Kentucky 1
Freshman McCall Langford pitched a complete game and the Georgia State bats came alive as the Panthers beat No. 23 Kentucky, 7-1, in the nightcap of day one at the Buzz Classic. GSU (10-4) is now 2-0 against the SEC this season and 2-0 against the Wildcats all-time.
After a disappointing opening game against UNF, the Panthers teed off on the Wildcats scoring seven runs on eight hits. GSU scored four runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to blow open a 1-1 tie game.
In the fourth after junior Lauren Jones singled, senior Lily Skelton smashed a two-run homer over the left field fence to push the lead to 3-1. The homer was Skelton's third on the season. Later in the inning, Nowacki scored on an error by the first baseman and Rebecca Roles scored on a Danielle Roddy single.
More fielding errors hurt the Wildcats in the fifth as Rachel Cunningham and Lauren Fetters scored on an error by the second baseman to push the lead to 7-1.
Leading the way for the Panthers was a handful of Panthers. Skelton had a homer and two RBI. Jones and Cunningham went 2-for-4 and Nowacki was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Despite seeing bases-loaded situations several times and allowing 10 hits, Langford worked herself out of each situation with the help of some timely fielding by third baseman Roddy and the rest of the GSU infield. Langford (4-1) only walked one batter and improved her team-leading ERA to 1.30 in 32.1 innings pitched.
A Nowacki solo homer got the Panthers on the scoreboard first before Kentucky tied the game in the third on a Natalie Smith single.
