Wilmington, N.C.- Three Georgia State pitchers held the nation's highest-scoring team to just four runs but the Panthers (37-20) fell to top-seeded James Madison, 4-0, to open the 2011 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament on Thursday at Brooks Field on the campus of UNC Wilmington.
Georgia State will now play an elimination game Friday at 12 noon against #2 seed Old Dominion, a 7-0 loser to #3 seed UNC Wilmington. The winner of that game will advance to a 7 p.m. contest later in the day.
It was the first time since March of 2009 that the Panthers had been shut out, ending a span of 167 straight games in which GSU had scored at least one run.
Carter Sackett led the Panthers with two hits at the plate, including a double, but GSU could only muster five total hits off JMU starter Sean Tierney, who tossed a complete game.
Panther senior and all-CAA second teamer Will Campbell (9-3) allowed just three runs on six hits over 5.2 innings, striking out three, but took the loss.
"Both teams pitched really well today," head coach Greg Frady said. "It just didn't go our way today and we'll have to come out and bounce back against a new opponent tomorrow."
Mark Micowski began the game with a leadoff walk in the first inning and the Panthers put two runners aboard against Tierney as Rob Lind also walked, but a caught-stealing with two outs ended the threat.
Sackett belted a one-out single to left field in the second, but was stranded on a flyout and groundout to end the inning.
"Carter did a really awesome job today, I want to give him credit," Frady said.
Campbell started well for GSU, retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced as he did not allow a hit until a two-out single in the third. The game remained scoreless after three frames.
The Dukes scored the first run of the game in the fourth on an RBI grounder by Alex Foltz to score David Herbek from third.
Bryan Condotta laid down a two-out bunt single past the pitcher Tierney in the fifth for the Panthers' third hit of the game, but GSU could not advance him in the inning.
James Madison added two more runs in the sixth inning on sacrifice flies off Campbell by Tyler McFarland and Connor Brown as GSU fell behind 3-0.
Sackett drilled a double into the left field corner with one out in the seventh as GSU moved just their second runner of the game into scoring position. Theo Asher then made it runners on the corners by singling Sackett over to third, but a double play ended the Panthers' best threat to score off Tierney.
After relieving Campbell in the sixth inning, senior left-hander Aidan Francis retired the first two batters he faced in the seventh before surrendering back-to-back doubles, including Jake Lowery's RBI which made it 4-0, JMU. As the Dukes looked to score again on a Herbek single to left, Aaron Schmitz fired a strike to Shane Hammond behind the plate to gun down CAA Player of the Year Lowery. Francis then struck out Matt Tenaglia to end the inning, the lefty's second of the day.
Senior right-hander Zach Chastain later came in to pitch a scoreless eighth inning and keep the Panthers within striking distance for the ninth, but GSU was retired in the final frame, in order, to end the game.
"We played solid defense out there, we really did," said Frady. "It just didn't go our way today."
Sackett finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate and now has 10 hits in his last five games.
Senior Ryan Fleming provided the Panthers' other hit, a single into center field in the fourth inning.
Each Panther game during the 2011 CAA Tournament can be heard on WRAS-FM 88.5, and on the station's web site.
