What You Need to Know:
* Matt Rose drove in two runs and Trae Sweeting's two-out single broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning.
* Nathan Bates allowed two runs in 6.1 innings, and relievers Wayne Wages and Kevin Burgee finished with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.
* GSU advances to play Thursday at 5 p.m. ET vs. winner of No. 1 South Alabama/No. 8 Arkansas State
TROY, ALA. - Trae Sweeting's two-out, run-scoring single in the eighth inning lifted No. 5 seed Georgia State to a 3-2 victory over No. 5 Georgia Southern in the first game of the Sun Belt Championship Wednesday morning at Troy's Riddle-Pace Field.
The Panthers advance to face top-seeded South Alabama, a 6-2 winner of Arkansas State, Thursday at 5 p.m. ET.
Georgia State (30-25) put together three singles eighth to break a 2-2 tie and back a strong pitching effort by starter Nathan Bates and relievers Wayne Wages and Kevin Burgee.
After Georgia Southern (30-26) tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers began their winning rally with Cam Sperry's pinch hit single to left center with one out in the eighth. After two outs, David Levy delivered his second hit of the day with an opposite field single to right to put runners at first and second.
Then Sweeting, the sophomore center fielder, singled to center and Sperry raced home with the go-ahead run.
"He was trying to come inside with some fastballs, but I think he missed a little bit and left it over the plate and I just drove it straight over the middle," Sweeting said. "I think this win gives us great momentum, and we'll get a lot of rest today since we played early, and we'll be ready to go tomorrow."
Bates, the Panthers' junior right-hander, shut down Georgia Southern before allowing two runs in the seventh. His final line saw him allow two runs on five hits over 6.1 innings with three strikeouts but he did not figure in the decision.
"Nathan Bates has answered the bell for us every Friday night, and he always gives us a chance to win," head coach Greg Frady said. "I thought he pitched particularly well today, and that start gave us a chance to win."
The left-handed Wages came on with one out in the seventh and runners at first and second and ended the inning with a flyout and a ground ball.
After GSU took the lead, Wages then struck out the first two hitters in the eighth before hitting a batter and giving way to Burgee, who hit his first batter and then ended the inning with a strikeout.
In the ninth, Kody Adams and Aaron Mizell managed back-to-back singles with two outs, but Burgee got Ryan Cleveland to fly out for the final out.
Wages earned the victory to improve to 4-0, and Burgee earned his eighth save.
Matt Rose gave the Panthers an early 2-0 lead with his bases-loaded, two-out, two-run single in the third. Levy got the inning going by drawing a one-out walk, Sweeting singled and Caden Bailey was hit by a pitch to set up Rose's league-leading 45th and 46th RBI.
Georgia State made several key defensive plays early in the game to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard. Shortstop Justin Jones turned a double play in the first inning, and in the second inning, catcher Joey Roach threw out Hunter Thomas attempting to steal and then Bates picked off Dalton Busby at first base. Jack Thompson snagged a line drive at first base and stepped on the bag for another double play in the fifth inning.
"We just played three close games against Georgia Southern last weekend, so the teams know each other well," Frady said. "I told our team that we needed to control their running game, limit their opportunities, turn some double plays, and then maximize our offensive opportunities when we can. The two-out RBI Matt Rose had to give us the lead and then Trae Sweeting's single to give us the lead again was enough offense today centered around the wonderful game Nathan Bates pitched, followed by Wayne Wages and Kevin Burgee."
"I'm really proud of the team for a lot of reasons," he continued. "I'm proud of how hard they played and how they kept their compusure. This is our first Sun Belt Conference tournament, so to win our first game is really important, and this is our 30th win, which is also really important for our program."
