ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia State baseball kept their offense rolling, plating 11 runs behind five homers from five different batters to close out a three-game sweep of the visiting Belmont Bruins in their first series of the year. Starting pitcher Caleb White produced his best outing as a Panther and, despite a late comeback attempt from Belmont, earned the victory in the 11-8 shootout.
A pair of hits in the top of the first gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead. White, however, would settle in quickly, striking out a pair to close the first before retiring the next nine batters in order to freeze the visitors at one run through five innings. He would finish the game with eight strikeouts over five and two thirds innings pitched, each a career high.
While White got comfortable on the mound, his offense got to work at the plate. After stranding two in the second and going down in order in the third, the Panthers got their start courtesy of a Jesse Donohoe solo home run to lead off the fourth. His second long ball of the series knotted the score at 1-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Panthers played small ball to take a 4-1 lead before William Maginnis got in on the action with the first home run of his collegiate career. The two-run shot put Georgia State up 6-1 heading into the sixth.
The Bruins were finally able to chase White with a three-run home run in the top of the sixth, but Jake Hembree was able to quickly stop the bleeding with an inning-ending strikeout. The Belmont homer was neutralized in the bottom half of the inning, when Michael Maginnis launched a three-run shot of his own. Sunday marked the first instance of brothers William and Michael hitting home runs in the same game, which they did in consecutive innings. Though he wears a different last name on his jersey, Cole Griffith shared in the brotherly love, homering in the very next at-bat following Michael Maginnis' long ball, stretching the Panthers' lead to 10-4.
Belmont was able to plate two runs in the top of the seventh, but Colin Hynek gave the Panthers some insurance when he became the team's fifth home run hitter of the game. His solo shot marked his third homer in as many games this season, and put Georgia State out in front 11-6.
Jacob Crews' first appearance of the season saw a bit of turbulence as the Bruins plated two runs in the top on the ninth, but the reliever was able to close out the series, battling back from a 3-0 count to strike out the final batter of the game.
The Panthers' handling of Belmont marks their first season-opening sweep since taking four out of four games from Purdue Fort Wayne in 2022.
The Panthers will travel to Jacksonville, Alabama next weekend to take on the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State University. That three game set opens on Friday, February 21 at 7 p.m.
