What You Need to Know:
• Georgia State dropped a doubleheader to UT Arlington Saturday, 9-5 and 18-16 (10).
• Ryan Blanton homered three times and Georgia State hit seven home runs on the day.
• The finale of the Sun Belt Conference series is Sunday at 12 p.m.
ATLANTA -- Ryan Blanton homered three times and Georgia State hit seven home runs on the day, but the Panthers dropped a doubleheader to UT Arlington, 9-5 and 18-16 (10) Saturday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Blanton hit a solo homer in Game 1 and then in Game 2, he belted a three-run in the Panthers' eight-run second and then hit another solo homer to straightaway center field in the fourth. He was 5-for-10 with five RBI in the doubleheader.
Will Kilgore also homered in Game 1, followed by Jarrett Hood, Brandon Gonzalez and Jack Thompson in Game 2. Thompson had six hits on the day and Kilgore five.
The nightcap was a crazy affair as Georgia State (13-14, 2-6) jumped to ahead 11-7 and led 14-7 after six, but the Mavericks (16-12, 4-4 Sun Belt) scored four in the seventh and then tied the game with three in the ninth. UTA scored four more in the 10th, and GSU answered with two but could not complete the rally.
The series concludes with a 12 p.m. game Sunday.
GAME 1: UT ARLINGTON 9, GEORGIA STATE 5
UT Arlington rode a five-run second inning to a 9-5 victory over Georgia State in Game 1 of a Sun Belt Conference doubleheader.
Georgia State collected 12 hits in the game, including home runs by Ryan Blanton and Will Kilgore, but the Panthers left 11 men on base.
After UTA took a 5-0 lead in the second, the Panthers got on the scoreboard on Blanton's solo homer in the bottom of the frame. Georgia State tried to chip away at the lead with two runs in the fourth and two in the fifth on Kilgore's two-run blast, but UTA kept scoring with single runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh.
Mavericks starter Kadon Simmons allowed five runs on 10 hits in 6.2 innings and earned the victory.
GAME 2: UT ARLINGTON 18, GEORGIA STATE 16 (10)
Georgia State hit five home runs, including two by Ryan Blanton, and jumped to an 11-1 lead after two innings, but UT Arlington tied the game with three runs in the ninth and then won it in the 10, 18-16.
The Panthers scored three in the first and then exploded for eight runs in the second, including a three-run homer by Blanton, followed by a solo blast by Brandon Gonzalez that put GSU ahead 11-1.
But on a day with the wind blowing out, UTA answered with five run in the top of the third, including a a three-run homer by Quintin Rohrbaugh, to pull within 11-6.
Jarrett Hood hit a solo homer for the Panthers in the third, and then Jack Thompson and Blanton led off the fourth with back-to-back blasts to put GSU ahead 14-6.
UT Arlington picked up a run in the fifth and then made things interesting with three run in the seventh to trail just 14-11.
In the ninth, GSU reliever Bryce Conley walked the first two batters before getting two outs. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third before Brady Cox's single brought home one run, and after another wild pitch, Rohrbaugh delivered a two-run single to tie the game at 14.
The Panthers put the go-ahead run at third base with two outs in the ninth but couldn't get him home.
UTA got a three-run double from Jerame Littel off reliever Rhett Harper (1-1) and then a run-scoring single from Darien McLemore to move ahead 18-14 in the 10th. Georgia State tried to rally as Will Kilgore drove in two with a double to right center, but that was all the Panthers could manage.
Jacob Moreland (2-0) pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, to earn the victory.
The teams combined for 41 hits in the game, but the GSU pitching staff hurt itself with nine walks.
