Baseball 5/16/2014 10:55:00 PM None

Panthers Fall 2-1 at WKU

Bowling Green, Ky. -- Georgia State fell 2-1 at Western Kentucky Friday at Nick Denes Field, ending the Panthers' chance to earn a spot in next week's Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

The combination of GSU's loss and a win by UALR means that even with a win Saturday, the Panthers (24-31, 10-19) cannot finish in the top eight in the league standings.

Georgia State pitchers Nathan Bates and Kevin Burgee combined to limit the Hilltoppers (29-25, 15-14) to two runs, but the Panthers were unable to come up with the big hit, leaving 12 men on base.

In the ninth inning, James Clements led off with a pinch hit single and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice. After a walk by Caden Bailey and a wild pitch, the Panthers had runners at second and third with one out, but WKU closer Ian Tompkins struck out Chase Raffield and Nic Wilson to end the game. Tompkins earned his league-leading 14th save.

Georgia State scored first with an unearned run in the first inning, and WKU answered when Phillip Diedrick led off the bottom of the third with a solo homer.

The score remained that way until the bottom of the seventh, when Diedrick led off with a double to the right field corner. After pinch runner Trevor Lowe advanced to third on a sacrifice, leadoff hitter Cody Wofford singled up the middle to bring home the go-ahead run off Bates.

Burgee struck out Ryan Church to end the seventh and retired the Hilltoppers in order in the eighth to give the Panthers a chance to come back.

"Nathan Bates and Kevin Burgee were just outstanding," GSU head coach Greg Frady said. "We pitched a great game and played outstanding defense all night long, but we couldn't get the big hit. Everybody was trying so hard to make something happen. Credit Western Kentucky for making some good pitches. We've got a great offensive team, but tonight we just couldn't find a way."

Bates went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on nine hits with two walks and one strikeout.

The Panthers stranded at least one runner in scoring position in each of the first six innings, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth.

Georgia State and Western Kentucky conclude the regular season Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

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