Williamsburg, Va.- Will Campbell tossed his second career complete game and Rob Lind smacked his ninth home run of the season as Georgia State struck first in their Colonial Athletic Association series against William & Mary with a 7-2 win Thursday night at Plumeri Park.
The Panthers improved to 34-16 overall and 14-11 in CAA play, moving into fifth place in the conference standings ahead of William & Mary (23-26, 13-12 CAA) and an idle Delaware. With five conference games remaining, GSU looks to claim one of four spots in the season-ending CAA Tournament in Wilmington, N.C., in two weeks.
Campbell (8-2) allowed just five Tribe hits Thursday night, hurling his second complete game in his last three starts. The senior right-hander also went the distance in a 13-0 win over Hofstra on April 30. Campbell moved back into a tie atop the CAA rankings with his eighth victory Thursday night, striking out five and walking just two.
Georgia State climbed in front, 2-0, by scoring runs in both the second and fourth innings off William & Mary starter Jay McCarthy.
After Theo Asher singled to lead off the second, Shane Hammond bounced a double into the left field corner, sending Asher to third. Bryan Condotta drove home the game's first run with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Asher.
GSU doubled its lead in the fourth inning after inducing two errors by the Tribe defense. Drew Shields reached first base on a fielding error by William & Mary second baseman Jonathan Slattery to get aboard. Asher then singled through the left side with Shields on the move, sending the lead runner towards third. As Tribe left fielder Ryan Williams threw to third to get Shields, an errant throw made it past third baseman Ryan Lindemuth and into the dugout to allow Shields to score for a 2-0 Panther lead.
William & Mary tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning after a double-steal scored a runner from third base and an RBI single by Derrick Osteen made it 2-2.
The Panthers reclaimed the lead for good in the seventh, starting with Brett Maxwell's RBI single off reliever Matt Davenport (2-7) that scored Condotta to give GSU a 3-2 lead. With Maxwell at first, Lind then stepped to the plate and blasted his ninth home run of the season, a line drive shot over the fence in right field to give the Panthers a 5-2 cushion.
Georgia State added to its advantage with two more runs in the top of the ninth inning. After Maxwell reached on a catcher's interference and advanced to third on a two-base wild pitch, Brandon Williams scored him by drilling a single to center, making it 6-2. Lind, who walked and advanced on Williams' hit, would score the game's final run later in the inning, advancing home from third as the Tribe threw out Williams attempting to steal second.
Campbell then tossed a perfect bottom of the ninth, inducing a lineout to left field by Tadd Bower to end the game.
It was GSU's fifth straight win over William & Mary, dating back to 2009, as coach Greg Frady improved to 10-2 versus the Tribe in five seasons.
Asher finished the night 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while Maxwell went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
The teams will continue their series with Friday night's game two, set for 7 p.m. at Plumeri Park.
