ATLANTA-Old Dominion's Kyle Hald threw a complete game with seven strikeouts to lead the Monarchs (18-17, 10-6 CAA) to a 4-1 win over Georgia State (26-10, 7-6) in the teams' Colonial Athletic Association series opener Friday afternoon at the Field at Panthersville.
GSU senior Will Campbell (6-1), the CAA wins leader, allowed just two earned runs over six innings but dropped his first decision of the season.
"Their guy is an all-conference pitcher and he certainly pitched like that today," said Panthers head coach Greg Frady. "We had some opportunities, but we couldn't get the big hit, and at the end of the day, you have to tip a hat to him and how he pitched."
Hald (5-2) held the Panthers to only one run, on Brett Maxwell's fifth inning groundout, to pick up his first complete game of the season. He entered Friday as the CAA's strikeouts leader and added seven more in the win, while walking two.
The Monarchs built a 3-0 lead off Campbell after four innings, aided by Joey Burney's fifth home run of the season, a solo shot in the second.
GSU plated their only run of the day off Hald in the fifth when Maxwell grounded into a double play that scored Bryan Condotta from third, who had led off the inning with a single.
The Monarchs made it 4-1 in the sixth inning after a defensive error by the Panthers allowed Burney to come home from second base.
The Georgia State bullpen shined in three innings of relief, keeping the Panthers close, as Jeremy Gazerro, Wes Grant and Tyler Claburn kept the Monarchs hitless, striking out five.
"Our bullpen was outstanding," said Frady. "I felt like they'd have to hold them to give us a chance, and they did exactly that. We had a little something going in the ninth, but we hit into a double play."
Rob Lind and Carter Sackett led off the ninth with singles for GSU to bring the tying run to the plate, but Hald induced a double play by pinch hitter Daniel Blaustein and struck out Condotta to end the game.
"We'll just have to come out here tomorrow and keep grinding," Frady said.
The series continues with 1 p.m. games Saturday and Sunday at the Field at Panthersville, where GSU is 19-4 on the season.
