What you need to know:
* Georgia State swept a doubleheader and the series with in-state rival Georgia Southern Saturday, winning game one 19-6 and game two 10-7.
* The Panthers scored 10 runs in the first inning of game one and led by as many as 17 runs en route to victory.
* Georgia State will now move on to the Sun Belt tournament which begins in San Marcos, Texas, May 6.
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia State scored 10 runs in the first inning of game one and never looked back in sweeping in-state rival Georgia Southern in a doubleheader on Saturday. The Panthers took game one 19-6 in five innings, before opening another 10-run lead and taking game two 10-7.
Georgia State (35-20, 14-10 Sun Belt) swept the three-game series from Georgia Southern (12-38, 4-20 Sun Belt) and now advances to the Sun Belt tournament in San Marcos, Texas, which begins on May 6.
The Panthers will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament and play the eighth-seeded Eagles in their first game of the tournament.
Taylor Anderson led the Panthers in game one, going 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and three runs scored. Ivie Drake extended her school home run record to 21 and scored four times, while Kensey Caldwell went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a pair of runs scored.
Taylor Thorpe pitched 3.1 innings to improve to 17-5 on the season.
In game two, the Panthers built a 10-0 lead after four innings to cruise to the series sweep. Megan Litumbe hit a pair of home runs, her 16th and 17th of the season, driving in seven and scoring twice.
Anderson went 2-for-4 at the plate and Katie Worley pitched 5.1 innings to improve to 11-9 on the season, picking up her second win of the series.
“We knew we needed to sweep this weekend and proud of team accepting that and following through,” head coach Roger Kincaid said. “We played well today. As a coach and a team, we controlled what we could control and now we will see how things play out next week.”
With seven home runs this weekend, Georgia State extended its school-record to 98 for the season. The Panthers entered the weekend third in the country.
Game One
Georgia State opened the doubleheader with a 19-6 win in five innings, putting up 10 runs in the top of the first and never looking back.
Georgia Southern was forced to use three pitchers just to get out of the inning. The Panthers scored five runs before Anderson blasted a grand slam for her seventh home run of the season, to put Georgia State ahead 9-0.
The Panthers added six more in the third to move ahead 16-2 and three more in the fourth to extend the lead to 19-2.
Callie Alford went 2-for-2 with three RBI and three runs scored, while Lauren Coleman went 1-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Game Two
Georgia State's power surge continued in game two. After scoring one in the second, the Panthers added six in the third and three more in the fourth to lead 10-0.
Litumbe drove a double down the line in the second, scoring Alford to put the Panthers ahead 1-0. Her first three-run home run of the game came in the third, giving Georgia State a 7-0 lead.
The sophomore added another three-run home run in the fourth to move Georgia State ahead 10-0.
Georgia Southern tried to get back in the game, scoring three in the fifth and fourth in the sixth.
Taylor Bradley added a pair of hits, while Alford went 1-of-3 with three runs scored.
Worley pitched 5.1 innings for the win, while Brooke Red pitched 2.1 innings and took the loss for the Eagles.
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