SAN MARCOS, TEXAS –
Josh Smith homered for the second straight day and the Georgia State bullpen turned in another strong outing to nail down the Panthers' 7-5 victory at Texas State, completing the three-game sweep at Bobcat Ballpark.
Georgia State (15-35, 10-11), which won Friday's doubleheader 7-4 and 9-4, earned its first Sun Belt Conference sweep since 2018 and first on the road since 2015.
The Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two innings, and after Texas State (21-31, 9-12) scored five in the fourth to make it a one-run game, relievers
Duncan Lutz and
Seth Clark slammed the door, finishing the game with 5.1 scoreless innings.
Lutz (1-2) went 2.2 and allowed just two hits with one walk and two strikeouts to earn the victory, and then Clark finished the job with 2.2 innings in which he gave up one hit and struck out three, earning his first save.
In the three-game sweep, the GSU bullpen pitched 17.2 innings and allowed just three runs while striking out 18.
The Panthers scored quickly as
Griffin Cheney led off the game with a single, and Smith homered with a towering blast to left field for a 2-0 lead. That is his team-leading eighth homer of the season.
Georgia State added more in the second on an RBI-single by
Kalen Puckett and a two-run double by
Will Mize to move ahead 5-0. Puckett delivered another run-scoring in the single in the fourth for a 6-0 advantage.
But Texas State finally got its offense going with five runs in the bottom of the fourth, including a three-run homer by Cole Coffey.
The Bobcats nearly tied the game in the sixth when Will Hollis hit a ball that appeared to be heading over the right field fence, but right fielder
Dalton Pearson made a spectacular leaping catch at the wall to rob the would-be home run.
Pearson then helped the Panthers to a key insurance run when he led off the eighth with a single and eventually scored on an error.
Georgia State returns home to conclude the regular season by hosting Little Rock next Thursday through Saturday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
