The Panthers (1-1) dropped the first game of the day, 7-5, after a late inning rally fell short, then responded behind Marshall and outfielder Jonathan Kolowich to claim the second game, 7-0.

"It was Opening Day, so we saw a little bit of everything," Panthers head coach Greg Frady said. "At the end of the day, we split a doubleheader and I think we have some things to feel good about."

Game One- WIU 7, GSU 5

After being held scoreless through the first seven innings, the Panthers sparked a late-inning rally but fell short in a loss to open the day.

Leathernecks senior lefty Rich Mascheri (1-0) allowed just four hits to keep the Panthers off the board until the eighth, when the Panthers capitalized on WIU relief pitching.

Kolowich got the Panthers on the board in the eighth with a two-run double to left field that scored Kody Adams and Drew Shields.

Two-sport GSU standout Mark Hogan got things going in the ninth with a pinch hit single. After the Panthers loaded the bases, back-to-back walks pushed two more runs across. Joey Wood then singled home Joel Van Asch to make the score 7-5, but the Panthers were unable to draw any closer in defeat.

Senior Preseason All-American Jake Dyer (0-1) got the start for the Panthers and tossed four innings, allowing four runs on six hits with six strikeouts.

Freshmen Connor Stanley and T.J. Sullivan each tossed two innings of relief in their first career appearances, while sophomore transfer Jason Boulais made his mound debut by pitching seventh.

Game Two- GSU 7, WIU 0

The Panthers got a terrific outing from Marshall and two more doubles from Kolowich in the second half of Friday's twinbill to secure their first victory of the season, 7-0.

In a scheduled seven-inning contest, Marshall (1-0) tossed a complete game one-hit shutout, striking out six Leathernecks for the win. It was the senior's sixth career start but first since his sophomore season.

"Everything was going well," said Marshall. "I started feeling really good around the third inning. I was was my first weekend start so I was trying to feel it out early in the game but the defense helped pick up some balls and it was exciting."

The Panthers gave Marshall an early cushion with four runs in the second inning, highlighted by RBI hits from freshmen Adams and Van Asch. GSU chased WIU starter Alexander  Zarate (0-1) from the game before the second inning ended, jumping to a 4-0 lead on five total hits, including another double from Kolowich.

The Panthers added a run in the third inning when Kolowich drilled his second double of the game and third of the day, sending Joey Wood to third base. Wood later scored on a groundout, making it 5-0.

GSU added its final runs in the fifth as Landon Bennett picked up his first GSU hit to bring home pinch runner Gabe Shivers, and Shivers later scored on a balk to make it 7-0.

Marshall needed no relief over the final two frames to secure his first career victory.

"Ben totally dominated today, he really was outstanding," Frady said. "We used a lot of our bullpen in game one and we really needed that outing. He did a phenomenal job of responding."

The Panthers, who returned only 13 players from last year's 37-win team, used 13 first-year players in action Friday. Included in that total were eight true freshmen. Adams led the group with three total hits, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Van Asch and Roy Seltenrijch each added hits in their Panther debut.

Saturday's third game has been moved up to 11 a.m. with impending inclement weather in the forecast.