Richmond, Va. - For the second straight day, the Georgia State baseball team struck early, leading the way to a 12-7 win over VCU on Saturday afternoon at The Diamond. Senior Bradley Logan went 3-for-6 at the plate and established a new career hits record with 270, the most in Panther history.
By setting the hits record, Logan now owns seven Georgia State career records. Before the season ends, the Augusta, Ga. native should also establish a new record for games played, becoming the most decorated baseball player in the history of the program. On Friday night, Logan tied Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas (2005-08) who had previously held the record.
"It is a great honor to break the all-time hits record," commented Logan after the game. "I want to thank my coaches and all of my teammates from over the last three-plus seasons who have pushed me to be my best. It is a testament to all of the hard work that everyone has put forth to make this a championship program."
Junior Charley Olson (3-4) pitched into the eighth inning to earn the win. Olson allowed 12 hits and five runs, three of which came in the eighth before he handed it over to the bullpen.
Junior Zach Chastain faced one batter before giving way to sophomore closer Justin Malone who pitched the final two innings. Malone struck out three to help secure the victory and earn his fourth save of the season.
With the save, Malone is now the all-time saves leader in the history of the program with 11, surpassing Kevin Hopper (1999-00).
State secured a series victory and improved to 23-17 on the season and 7-4 in CAA action. VCU, which led the CAA by 1.0 game entering the afternoon, fell to 22-17 overall and 11-3 in the conference. The Panthers have now won nine straight against Rams dating back to 2007 and will look for their third straight series sweep on Sunday.
"It was a very hard-fought victory for us today," commented head coach Greg Frady. "Charley Olson pitched extremely well for us, while Rob Lind had two big RBI hits for us. Our defense also played well and I think as a team, we are playing very balanced baseball right now."
The Panthers struck quickly in the top of the first, as junior Mark Micowski led off the game with a single to center and scored two batters later when senior Carl Moniz doubled to left center to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Junior Ryan Fleming followed with a single to center, scoring Moniz to give State a two-run lead. Fleming finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
VCU cut the Panthers lead to one in the bottom of the third, but State bounced back to score in each of the next four innings.
Lind flied out deep to center in the top of the fourth, scoring Fleming from third to give State a 3-1 lead.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fifth, Logan singled to left, scoring redshirt-junior Brett Maxwell and Micowski, putting the Panthers ahead 5-1.
Micowski, who broke out of a small slump on Friday night, went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBIs.
The Rams struck back with one in the bottom half of the inning, before State responded with one in the top of the sixth.
Micowski belted his fifth home run of the season over the right field wall, giving the Panthers a 6-2 lead. It was Georgia State's 71st home run of the year, just six shy of the school's all-time record of 77 set in 2000.
Lind struck again for the Panthers in the top of the seventh, singling to right field to score Fleming and Logan to put State ahead 8-2.
Lind finished the game 3-for-4 with a run scored and team-high four RBIs.
VCU rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth, cutting the Panthers lead to just three, but once again, Georgia State's offense responded.
Lind singled to right in the top of the ninth, scoring Logan to give State a 9-5 lead. Back-to-back singles by junior Shane Hammond and sophomore Justin Malone, followed by a double to left center by Micowski gave the Panthers a 12-5 lead.
Hammond added two hits, starting behind the plate for the 13th time over the last 14 games.
VCU attempted to rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring two runs before Malone was able to close it out.
Kyle Haynes (3-4) took the loss for VCU, pitching 4.0 innings and allowing eight hits and five runs, four of which were earned.
Richard Gonzalez led the Rams at the plate, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored, while Joe Van Meter went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the loss.
The series finale is set for Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Live stats can be found by visiting GeorgiaStateSports.com.
The Panthers will return home to face Alabama State on Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. Tickets for the game, as well as all remaining home games can be purchased by calling 1-866-GA-STATE or by visiting GeorgiaStateSports.com.
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