What You Need to Know:
• Darius Sewell's solo homer in the top of the 11th inning lifted Georgia State to 10-9 victory at Texas State.
• Jack Thompson hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, and Will Kilgore drove in three runs.
• Rhett Harper earned the win by recording the final four outs.
San Marcos, Texas -- Freshman Darius Sewell hit a solo home run in the top of the 11th inning and then sophomore reliever Rhett Harper got the final three outs to give Georgia State a 10-9 victory at Texas State Sunday at Bobcat Ballpark.
Jack Thompson hit a three-run homer to put Georgia State (23-25, 9-15) ahead 9-4 in the seventh, and GSU led 9-6 in the eighth inning when Luke Sherley's three-run homer tied the game for the Bobcats.
The score was still tied in the ninth when Wayne Wages came on to pitch for the Panthers with one on and one out and got out of the inning to force extra frames.
Texas State (26-23, 13-11 Sun Belt) threatened again the 10th with runners at first and second, but Harper worked out of the jam by striking out Dylan Paul for the third out.
Sewell, the rookie right fielder from Atlanta's Lakeside High School, came to the plate with one out in the 11th and hit the 2-2 pitch from reliever Brandon Lewis (2-1) over the left field fence for his third homer of the season. He also had a two-run double in the game.
In the bottom of the frame, Texas State had Sun Belt home run leader Tanner Hill leading off, but Harper (2-1) got a ground ball to third, where Jarrett Hood made a nice play for the first out. Then pinch hitter Mickey Scott popped up in foul territory. A two-out single by Granger Studdard kept the Bobcats alive, but Harper got Nick Perez to fly out to center to seal the win.
The victory is Georgia State's sixth in extra innings this season. The Panthers now stand in a three-way tie for eighth place (with ULM and Arkansas State) in the Sun Belt standings, with the top eight teams qualifying for the conference tournament.
The Panthers jumped in front in the second inning on a two-run single by Will Kilgore. After Texas State tied the game with runs in the third and fourth innings, GSU scored three more in the fifth on an infield single by Justin Jones and then Sewell's two-run double to the left field corner.
Kilgore added his third RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and the Panthers led 6-4 after six innings.
In the seventh, Sam Few singled and James Clements walked to put runners at first and second with two outs for Thompson. The sophomore first baseman hit his sixth homer of the season off Texas State closer Pasquale Mazzoccoli, who has 11 saves, giving GSU a 9-4 lead.
The two teams combined for 33 hits and 14 walks in the game, but the GSU pitching staff stranded 18 Texas State runners.
Georgia State is at Kennesaw State for a 6 p.m. game Tuesday at Stillwell Stadium.
