What you need to know:
* Georgia State split a pair of games Friday at the USF Series Tournament in Clearwater, Fla.
* The Panthers lost to Villanova 15-2 in five innings and then took down Eastern Michigan 11-0 in five innings.
* GSU plays Saturday against Seton Hall followed by bracket play Saturday night and Sunday morning.
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Pulling off a complete turnaround, the Panthers (6-7) defeated Eastern Michigan (5-7) 11-0 in five innings Friday night in their second game at the USF Series Tournament after falling 15-2 to Villanova (2-4) in the first one.
Senior pitcher Katie Worley (3-0, 1.88 ERA) helped lead the charge against the Eagles with a complete game shutout, her second of the season. Worley, who was last week's Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week, gave up just one hit and struck out three. At the plate, sophomore Ivie Drake was 2-for-2 with an RBI, three runs scored and two walks. Junior Mandy Blackwell's three RBI led the Panthers and senior Taylor Anderson and freshman Reagan Morgan added two RBI each. All but one starter had a hit in the contest.
The offensive explosion was a welcome sight after a tough game to start the day. The Panthers took on Villanova to kick off the USF Series Tournament and struggled on defense. Six GSU errors helped the Wildcats plate 15 runs with 13 of the runs coming in the first two innings. Sophomore Brenna Skalski had two hits in the game and Drake scored both of GSU's runs.
The Panthers face Seton Hall Saturday at 2 p.m. to finish round-robin play before beginning bracket play at 4:30.
Schedule (home team in bold):
Friday - Georgia State vs. Villanova – L, 15-2
Friday – Georgia State vs. Eastern Michigan – W, 11-0
Saturday – Georgia State vs. Seton Hall – 2 p.m.
Saturday – Georgia State vs. TBD – 4:30 p.m.
Sunday – Georgia State vs. TBD – 10 a.m.
Notes:
After three against Eastern Michigan on Friday, senior pitcher Katie Worley is 8 strikeouts short of 300 for her career. Worley currently sits in ninth on GSU's all-time strikeout list and needs 304 to climb into eighth.
Ivie Drake has 15 walks this season entering the weekend, giving her the fourth-highest walks-per-game ratio in the country. No other Panthers has more than five walks so far in 2016.
Georgia State has wins in 2016 against teams from the Big Ten (Maryland), MAC (Miami), ACC (Georgia Tech) and the Big East (St. John's).
GSU has gone 6-2 since the opening weekend with the only losses coming against No. 5 Alabama and Villanova.
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