HARRISONBURG, Va. -- The Georgia State softball team pounded out 19 runs on 17 hits and the GSU pitchers allowed only two runs as the Panthers swept Colonial Athletic Association foe James Madison, 8-0 and 11-2, Saturday to clinch a spot in next month's four-team CAA Tournament.
GSU (30-18, 13-1 CAA) scored eight runs in the first inning and pitcher Alana Thomas (7-7) shut out the Dukes (27-19, 6-8 CAA) as the Panthers claimed game one, 8-0, in five innings. Game two featured four homers, including two from designated player Brenna Morrissey, as GSU won game two, 11-2. Pitcher McCall Langford (12-8) earned the victory.
The Panthers have won 13 CAA games in a row since losing to Towson on March 26. It's the longest win streak in conference play in GSU's 27-year fastpitch history. Georgia State has won 30 games for the fifth year in a row. They are 20-5 in their last 25 games and 13-2 in their last 15.
GSU is batting .324 as a team in CAA play, while the pitching staff has a 0.69 ERA.
GSU returns to action next weekend when it hosts George Mason in a three game CAA series on senior weekend. Game times are 12 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday. GSU's three seniors will be recognized in a pregame ceremony before Sunday's contest.
GAME ONE: Georgia State 8, James Madison 0 (5)
The Georgia State softball team scored a season-high eight runs in the second innings and Thomas shut down James Madison's bats to lead the Panthers to an 8-0 game one victory in five innings.
GSU scored its eight runs in the second inning on five singles, a sac fly and two JMU errors.
Paige Nowacki led off the second with a single and advanced to second on a fielder's choice by Audrey Mason that failed to get either runner out. Four straight singles scored three runs with Tiffany Bess, Maddy Stanton and Megan Kallatsa all notching RBI singles and Whitney Phillips laying down a bunt single to load the bases for Kallatsa. A pair of back-to-back errors by the Dukes' defense led to two more runs. Left fielder Lori Botkin dropped a fly ball by Jessica Clifton that allowed Stanton and Phillips to scamper home. Morrissey reached base on a throwing error by catcher Katie Spitzer, allowing Clifton and Kallatsa to cross the plate for two more runs. After Lauren Jones walked, Nowacki, batting for the second time in the inning, hit a sac fly that scored Morrissey and gave GSU an 8-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second.
"One of our goals is to score first, especially on the road," said interim head coach Roger Kincaid. "We had not been scoring a lot of runs for [Alana Thomas], so when we had that big inning, it really gave her great confidence. It's much easier to pitch with a lead."
The eight runs in the second are the most for the Panthers in a single inning all season, topping seven-run innings against Delaware and Drexel. GSU sent 12 batters to the plate during the inning.
Six different Panthers had hits in the game, including one each from the 6-9 hitters, which included Bess, Stanton, Phillips and Kallatsa.
That would be all Thomas would need as she allowed only five hits in the five innings. She also struck out three and walked one. The only real threat came in the third when JMU had three runners reach second base, but two were forced out at third and a third was stranded after a foul out by Caitlen Manning. Thomas sports a 3-1 record in conference with a 0.49 ERA.
JMU starter Olivia McPherson suffered the loss, giving up all eight runs (five earned) on six hits and a walk.
GSU has run-ruled CAA opponents in five straight games, including four five-inning games in a row.
GAME TWO: Georgia State 11, James Madison 2
Georgia State hit four homers, including two by Morrissey, to help the Panthers to an 11-2 game two victory.
The runs kept coming for GSU in the doubleheader as the Panthers plated four runs in the first inning. After Morrissey walked, Jones singled up the middle to put runners at first and second for Nowacki. The McDonough, Ga., native smacked a single down the left field line, scoring Morrissey. Up stepped Mason, who ripped a three-run homer over the right center field fence to give the Panthers the early 4-0 lead. It was the Kennesaw, Ga., product's fifth bomb of the season and fourth in CAA play.
A two-run slam by Morrissey in the second extended GSU's lead to 6-0.
"Brenna did what she's done all year, which is have great at-bats," said Kincaid. "She really stepped up, and it couldn't have come at a better time."
Morrissey's homer would be the end of McPherson's (11-10) day after allowing eight runs in game one and six in 1.1 innings of work in game two.
The JMU bats finally came to life in the fourth inning as the Dukes picked up a pair of runs on back to back doubles from Caitlin Sandy and Manning to cut the lead to 6-2.
The Dukes threatened in the fifth as Chel'sea Ryan tripled to centerfield with two outs. Langford was then replaced by reliever Kaitlyn Medlam after going 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out six. The LaGrange, Ga., native has now topped the 100 K (102) mark for the first time in her career and is 6-0 in CAA games.
After a walk to reigning CAA Player of the Year Ashley Burnham to put runners at the corners, Medlam forced a ground out to Kallatsa to end the inning. Medlam went 1.1 innings, allowing only one hit, and Erin Collins entered and had a perfect seventh to close out the game.
Morrissey made sure the Dukes had no thoughts of a comeback as she hit her second homer of the day in the sixth inning, another two-run homer, scoring pinch runner Chelsea Sparks. It was her second home run of the season.
GSU's final runs came on a Bess blast in the seventh, a three-run shot that brought home Nowacki and Mason to push the lead to 11-2. The Panthers have now hit 21 homers in CAA play and 36 on the year. The 36 bombs are tied for fifth in school history for a single season. Bess had two homers on the week, as she hit the game-winner against Mercer on Tuesday.
GSU out-scored the Dukes 19-2 in the doubleheader.
Morrissey went 3-for-3 with two homers, four RBI and three runs scored. Nowacki, Mason and Bess each had two hits, with Mason and Bess adding a homer and three RBI.
The Dukes have been hampered with injuries as of late in the circle as Cara Stecher (10-1) has missed the last two series for JMU, forcing McPherson to start both games against the Panthers.
