ATLANTA- Rob Lind belted his 10th homer run of the year and Will Campbell tied a school record by winning his ninth game of the season as Georgia State moved within one win of clinching a spot in the Colonial Athletic Association postseason tournament with a 3-1 victory Thursday night over George Mason at the Field at Panthersville.
The Panthers improved to 36-18 overall and 16-12 in the CAA standings with the win, needing one more victory in two remaining games against the Patriots (20-31-1, 6-22 CAA) this weekend to clinch a place in the conference's four-team tournament next weekend in Wilmington, N.C.
Campbell (9-2) becomes the fourth Panther to win nine games on the mound in a single season, the first since Ronnie Robinson in 2002. The Douglasville native struck out seven Patriots in 6.2 innings Thursday night to pick up the win.
Jake Dyer earned his eighth save of the year by inducing a ninth inning flyout with the tying run at the plate to seal the victory.
"George Mason has a very good offensive team," head coach Greg Frady said. "To hold that team to one run is pretty amazing."
The Panthers also set a school record for regular season victories with their 36th win Thursday.
"We played with such a great energy tonight," said Frady. "I've been here seven seasons, five as a head coach, and this is the best regular season we've put together."
Campbell and Dyer were aided Thursday by junior Nick Squeglia, who tossed 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to keep the Patriots at bay. GSU's three pitchers combined to strand 11 Mason baserunners.
The Panthers pushed the game's first runs across the plate in the second inning against Patriots starter T.J. O'Grady (2-5) as Theo Asher and Aaron Schmitz hit a pair of RBI groundouts to score Ryan Fleming and Carter Sackett.
Lind then added to the Panther advantage with two outs in the fifth by launching his 10th home run of the year over the wall in right, a solo shot that made the score 3-0.
The Patriots cut the Panther lead to two in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Danny Lyons, but that was as close as the GSU staff would allow Mason to come.
Squeglia pitched the last out of the seventh inning in relief of Campbell, then tossed a perfect eighth, striking out three straight batters in the process. After one Patriot reached base in the ninth on a one-out error, Dyer induced a ground ball and a fly ball to end the game.
The Panthers now need one more victory to reach their third straight CAA Tournament, with games remaining against George Mason on Friday and Saturday.
"There has to be something said for trying to qualify for the conference tournament in order to put the legitimate stamp on this season," Frady concluded.
Friday's game two is slated for 6 p.m. at the Field at Panthersville, with GSU senior Charley Olson taking the mound for the Panthers. The game will be broadcast by WRAS-FM 88.5 and streamed live on the station's web site.
