Wilmington, N.C. – UNCW scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Georgia State, 12-11, for a sweep of the three-game Colonial Athletic Association series at Brooks Field. The winning run came home with two outs on a fielder's choice as Josh Abshire beat Caden Bailey to third base, allowing Michael Bass to score.
Georgia State (15-10, 5-4 CAA) scored three times in the top off the ninth to take an 11-7 lead, but the Seahawks (17-7, 4-1 CAA) tied the game with no outs as seven consecutive batters reached base on three hits, two walks and two hit by pitches off three GSU pitchers. With the bases still loaded and no outs, the Panthers brought in freshman Nathan Bates to pitch and positioned left-fielder Chris Triplett as a fifth infielder. The strategy worked as Bates got two ground balls for force outs at home. With two outs, Luke Dunlap hit a sharp ground ball to third that Bailey fielded. He raced to the bag for the force out, but Abshire just beat him to end the game.
“We played hard all night long but just couldn't get the last out,” said GSU head coach Greg Frady. “We turned a great double-play to get out of a jam in a one-run game in the eighth inning. After you put some runs on the board in the top of the ninth, you have to feel like you are in really good position, but getting the final three outs in baseball is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports.
“We just didn't get it done tonight, but we've won our share,” Frady continued. “The last couple of weekends, we've been fortunate enough to walk off, but tonight we're having to deal with the same thing that we've been able to do to other people. It's a tough one to lose. I wish we could have ended the game better, but I like how hard our kids fought.”
After Chase Raffield's solo home run in the fourth inning put GSU on the board, the Panthers used a seven-run fifth inning to take an 8-1 lead. Garitt Church's sacrifice fly brought home the first run, Triplett delivered an run-scoring single and then Scott Sarratt followed with a two-run double. Mark Hogan hit another sac fly, and then Greg Bowder and Chad Prain added RBI-singles.
But UNCW chipped away with two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth, and then the Seahawks made it a one-run game in the eighth on Bass' run-scoring double and a pinch-hit single by Abshire that scored Terrence Connelly to make it 8-7. But the Panthers turned a 5-4-3 double play on a ground ball by Hunter Ridge to preserve their lead.
Triplett led off the top of the ninth with a single and scored on Hogan's triple to the right field corner. The Panthers added two more insurance runs as Hogan came home on a throwing error by the catcher after a wild pitch on Bowder's strikeout. Bowder then came around to score on a throwing error by the shortstop on Prain's ground ball.
Prain had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. Sarratt had three hits and two RBI, and Hogan also knocked in two runs.
GSU starter Andrew Fessler allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits in five innings of work but did not figure in the decision. Aidan McLaughlin (0-3) suffered the loss for the Panthers.
UNCW reliever Justin Livengood (1-1) got the final two outs in the ninth to earn the win.
Georgia State returns home to host Alabama State Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.
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