SCHEDULE CHANGE, PLEASE NOTE: Georgia State and William and Mary will play a doubleheader Friday at 2 p.m.
Williamsburg, Va. — Georgia State fell to William and Mary, 15-3, in the opening game of a Colonial Athletic Association series Thursday at Plumeri Park.
Georgia State fell to 34-20, 13-12 in the CAA, with their most lopsided loss of the season. William and Mary improved to 34-19, 16-9 to clinch second place in the conference.
The Panthers led 2-1 in the third inning and trailed just 4-2 after five but were undone by a disastrous sixth inning in which the Tribe scored 10 runs.
Freshmen Josh Merrigan and Joey Roach homered for the Panthers, who pounded out 12 hits but left nine on base.
William and Mary's John Farrell (10-2) scattered nine hits over six innings but allowed just two runs to earn his CAA-leading 10th victory of the season.
Merrigan led off the third inning with a solo blast down the right field line for his fourth homer of the season to tie the game at 1-1. The rookie center fielder had four hits on the day to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.
With two outs in the inning, Nic Wilson doubled to left center and then came home on Caden Bailey's chopper through the right side, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
But the Tribe answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning on bloop double that dropped in shallow center field, followed by another double to right center, just out of the reach of a diving Mark Hogan.
In the sixth inning, William and Mary sent 15 men to the plate to score 10 runs, aided by three walks and three hit batters. Jackson Shaver's grand slam was the big blow.
Roach, the Panthers' catcher, hit his fourth round-tripper when he led off the seventh inning with a blast to right field. Bailey had two hits and an RBI for GSU.
Freshman Garrett Ford (4-4) took the loss for Georgia State, allowing six runs in 5-1/3 innings.
Saturday's scheduled game has been moved up to Friday due to the threat of inclement weather, so the teams will play a doubleheader Friday, beginning at 2 p.m.
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