What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State rallied from a 6-0 deficit to pull within 6-5 before falling 8-5 to Texas State.
* The Panthers remain second in the Sun Belt at 14-8, behind South Alabama (17-7)
* SS Justin Jones had three hits and two RBI today; he leads all Sun Belt freshmen in batting average, hits and runs and is second in RBI.
ATLANTA -- Georgia State rallied from a 6-0 deficit to pull within 6-5 before falling 8-5 to Texas State Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex. The Panthers (27-20 overall) dropped the series but remain in second place in the Sun Belt Conference at 14-8, trailing South Alabama (17-7)
The Panthers fell behind 6-0 before getting on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning on Matt Rose's sacrifice fly, his Sun Belt leading 41st RBI of the season.
With GSU trailing 6-1, Jack Thompson led off the sxith with a single and then Cam Sperry smashed a ground rule double to put runners at second and third with no outs. After Trae Sweeting walked to load the bases, freshman Will Johnson delivered a two-run single through the left side to pull the Panthers within 6-3.
David Levy bunted the runners to second and third, and then Jones dropped an opposite field single into right field to score two more, and GSU was within 6-5.
But Texas State (20-26-1, 12-12 Sun Belt) answered with two runs in the top of the seventh as Luke Sherley's fly ball dropped into left center for a two-out, two-run double.
Georgia State starter Cole Uvila (1-6) cruised through the first two innings and was scoreless after three before running into trouble in the fourth, when the Bobcats strung together a walk, four straight singles and a GSU error to score five runs.
Texas State starter Jeremy Hallonquist allowed one run through four innings but was removed in the top of the fifth. Reliever Blake Whitter (3-2) finished the game with four innings to earn the victory.
Jones, the Panthers' freshman shortstop, had three hits and two RBI today to raise his average to .305. He leads all Sun Belt freshmen in batting average, hits and run scored and is second with 25 RBI.
Sperry added three hits for GSU.
The Panthers play at Atlanta-area rival Kennesaw State Wednesday at 6 p.m. and then travel to Troy next weekend for a Sun Belt series. The final home games are scheduled for May 14-16 vs. Georgia Southern.
