BOONE, N.C. -- Luke Leonard drove in four in runs, Dalton Davies had three doubles and two RBI and Daino Deas smacked a three-run home run to lead Georgia State to a 17-6 victory (8 innings) at Appalachian State, clinching the Sun Belt Conference series, two games to one.
Georgia State's 17 runs are a season high and the most runs the Panthers have ever scored in a Sun Belt game.
The Panthers (7-13, 2-1 Sun Belt) exploded for eight runs in the second inning and never looked back. Elian Merejo and Brandon Bell walked to start the inning and moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Chase Frady. Then seven straight Panthers reached base, beginning with Luke Leonard's 2-run single up the middle. After Josh Smith walked, Dalton Davies doubled home Leonard. Then Deas smacked his first homer of the season, a three-run shot that made it 6-0. After Griffin Cheney was hit by a pitch, Jake Corso doubled him home and then scored on Bell's infield hit and subsequent wild throw for the 8-0 advantage.
With Georgia State leading 10-0, Appalachian State (7-11, 1-2 Sun Belt) managed its first hit off starter Trey Horton in the fifth inning and went on to score five runs, four of them on Riley Smith's grand slam. Although Horton was unable to complete the fifth, freshman Ryan Watson came on and got an inning-ending double play.
Watson pitched 2.1 innings in relief, allowing one run on four hits to earn improve to 3-1 on the season. Fellow freshman Joseph Brandon recorded the final four outs of the game, shortened to eight innings due to the 10-run rule on Sundays.
"Today everything came together and we secured the series," head coach Greg Frady said. "It's a great way to start Sun Belt play. It was great to see our offense come alive today."
For Leonard, the senior center fielder, today's performance capped a strong series in which he was 7-for-13 with two doubles and a triple, four RBI and five runs scored.
Davies' three doubles, which came on his first three at-bats, are one shy of the GSU single-game record.
Georgia State plays at No. 8 Georgia Tuesday at 5 p.m. on SECN+ and then returns home to host Sun Belt foe UT Arlington next weekend.
