What You Need to Know
* Georgia State (6-4) clinched the series with Ohio with an 11-4 win Saturday.
* The Panthers scored eight runs in the first inning to back a strong start by Kenny Anderson.
* Series finale is Sunday at 1 p.m.
ATLANTA -- Georgia State scored eight runs in the first inning to back a solid start by Kenny Anderson, who allowed three runs
on four hits, as the Panthers clinched their series with Ohio with an 11-4 victory Saturday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Joey Roach drove in three runs, and Caden Bailey and Ryan Blanton added two RBI each to lead the Panthers' attack. James Clements and Justin Jones also drove in runs to help Georgia State improve to 6-4 on the season. Ohio, which entered the series at 6-0, is now 6-2.
The series concludes with a 1 p.m. game Sunday.
The Panthers jumped out quickly by sending 12 men to the plate in their eight-run first inning. Roach started the scoring with
a two-run triple inside the bag at first base. Bailey drove him Roach with a groundout for the second out, and then the next
six batters reached by single or walk.
Justin Jones' RBI-single extended the lead to 4-0, and then Ryan Blanton plated two more with a two-run single up the middle to chase starter Connor Sitz (2-1). After the seventh run of the inning scored on a wild pitch, James Clements capped the inning with a run-scoring single, giving the Panthers an 8-0 lead.
Ohio managed three runs in the second, aided by an infield hit and a pair of walks, but those were the only runs that Anderson (1-1) allowed. The senior left-hander pitched six innings and struck out four to earn his first victory of the season.
After allowing those three runs, the Panthers answered with single runs in the second, third and fourth innings to push their advantage to 11-3.
"Of course the eight-run first inning was huge, but equally important was scoring runs the next three innings to keep the momentum going," Georgia State head coach Greg Frady said.
"Kenny gave us a really good start," Frady continued. "He had a little trouble in the second inning, after sitting down for so long during that eight-run first, but he settled down and gave us what we needed."
Freshman Will White and Tanner Love pitched the final 2.2 innings for the Panthers, allowing no runs and just one hit between them.
Tickets for Sunday's series finale are just $5 and can be purchased at the gate. Live audio is available on GeorgiaStateSports.com and GSU mobile apps.
