What You Need to Know:
* GSU led 3-0 and then 4-2 after four before falling 8-6 to VCU.
* Ryan Blanton hit a solo home run and Jaylen Woullard had two hits and two RBI.
* The Panthers host Purdue Sunday at 1 p.m. the final game of the Atlanta Challenge.
ATLANTA -- Georgia State led early, but a late rally came up short as the Panthers fell 8-6 to VCU Saturday at the GSU Baseball Complex in Game 2 of the Atlanta Challenge.
Ryan Blanton homered for Georgia State (1-1), and Jaylen Woullard had two hits and two RBI.
The Panthers took a 3-0 lead Blanton's solo blast in the first inning and then two-out RBIs by Jarrett Hood and Joey Roach in the third inning.
After VCU (2-0), an NCAA Super Regional participant in 2015, scored two in the fourth, Rhett Harper delivered a run-scoring single with two outs in the fourth for a 4-2 GSU advantage.
But the Rams pushed across two more runs in the fifth, one in the sixth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth to move ahead 8-4.
The Panthers rallied on Woullard's two-run single in the eighth, also with two outs, to pull within 8-6 but could get no closer.
VCU starter Sean Thompson earned the victory with five innings of work in which he allowed four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. Sam Donko got the final four outs to earn his first save.
Georgia State starter Devin Vainer allowed four runs on just two hits but hurt himself with seven walks in four-plus innings. After issuing just one walk in Friday's 12-inning victory, the GSU staff walked 10 Saturday.
"The difference in the game was not about effort, it was about execution," head coach Greg Frady said. "The pace of play was not in our favor, and we walked too many people. When you issue a lot of freebies, it's just hard to get that defensive momentum you want.
"We just really couldn't stop them. Even though we never really gave up the big inning, they were getting a run or two per inning through the middle part when we let the game get away from us.
"It's disappointing, but we have a new team that we're learning a lot about," Frady continued. "I was pleased with the effort, and now we have to get some rest and get ready to come out here tomorrow to try to win the first weekend series in this Atlanta Challenge."
The Atlanta Challenge concludes Sunday as the Panthers host Purdue at 1 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.
