ATLANTA -- Nic Wilson homered in both games and drove in six runs on the day but Georgia State dropped a doubleheader to Western Kentucky, 4-3 and 6-5 (10), Saturday at the GSU Baseball Complex. WKU (12-8, 2-1 Sun Belt) takes the Sun Belt Conference series, 2-1, as the teams played three straight one-run games.
Wilson, the senior first baseman, went 6-for-9 on the day and his run-scoring fielder's choice in the seventh inning put the Panthers (10-10, 1-2 Sun Belt) ahead 5-4 in game two, but WKU rallied to tie the game in the ninth and win it in the 10th to complete the doubleheader sweep.
Over the last six games, Wilson is 15-for-24 (.625) with six homers and 17 RBI.
WKU's Ryan Church hit a pair of solo homers in game one, and Trevor Lowe singled home the winning run in the 10th inning of game two.
"It was a long day and two hard-fought games," GSU head coach Greg Frady said. "There were some things we did well and some things that we need to do better, but learned a lot about our team and about Sun Belt Conference baseball."
GAME ONE:WKU 4, GSU 3
Nic Wilson homered and drove in all three Georgia State runs but the Panthers fell to Western Kentucky 4-3 as the Hilltoppers evened the series, led by two solo home runs by Ryan Church.
After falling behind early, Georgia State pulled within 4-3 on Wilson's solo homer in the seventh inning. The Panthers put the tying run at third base in both the eighth and ninth innings but could not get the run home off WKU closer Ian Tompkins.
Tompkins came on in the eighth with runners at second and third and two outs, and the left-hander struck out Matt Rose to end the inning.
In the ninth, Tompkins gave up leadoff walk to Wilson, and pinch runner Ryan Blanton moved to third when Tompkins' threw wildly to first base on a failed pickoff attempt. Tompkins struck out David Mayo and walked Chris Triplett with two outs. Tompkins then got Trae Sweeting swinging to end the game.
Wilson drove in the Panthers' first run with a double off the right field wall in the first inning to score Chad Prain, who led off the game with a single. He added a run-scoring single in the fifth.
GSU starter Matt Rose (1-1) left game with a minor injury after just 2.2 innings. He allowed two runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
Garrett Ford relieved Rose and pitched four innings, giving up two runs on eight hits while striking out four. Aidan McLaughlin finished the game with 2.1 scoreless innings to give the Panthers a chance.
GAME TWO: WKU 6, GSU 5 (10)
Nic Wilson gave Georgia State a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning with a run-scoring fielder's choice, but Western Kentucky rallied to tie the game in the ninth and then earned a 6-5 win in the 10th on Trevor Lowe's run-scoring single.
Wilson hit a solo homer in the first inning, his eighth of the season and sixth in the last six games, and added an RBI-single in the fifth that tied the game at 4-4.
In the seventh, the Panthers loaded the bases with on out on a leadoff double off the wall by Joey Roach and walks by Chad Prain and Caden Bailey, bringing Wilson to the plate. He hit a ground ball to the third baseman, who threw to second to force Bailey, but the 6-6, 230-pound Wilson beat the throw at first to score Prain.
WKU tied the game in the ninth as Scott Wilcox drew a leadoff walk off GSU closer Kevin Burgee (1-1) and scored on Ryan Church's double off the wall in left field.
Ty Downing led off the top of the 10th with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and then scored the go-ahead run as Trevor Lowe dropped a single just in front of left fielder Chris Triplett.
In the bottom of the 10th, Wilson singled with one out to put the tying run on base, but Chase Raffield hit a hard ground ball to second base for a game-ending double play.
Blake Allen (1-3) held the Panthers scoreless over the final three innings on just one hit to earn the victory for WKU.
WKU jumped in front with two runs in the first, but the Panthers answered in the bottom of the frame with Wilson's homer.
The Panthers took their first lead one inning later on run-scoring singles by Joey Roach and David Levy, the latter a perfectly placed bunt single, but WKU moved ahead 4-3 with two runs in the top of the fifth.
