Atlanta, GA – Georgia State Baseball overcame a rocky start on Friday to take the opening game of their weekend series with visiting Alabama A&M, 19-7.
Carter Bailey led the way for the Panthers with four hits and five different Georgia State players contributed multiple RBI to the high-scoring victory.
The Panthers opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, as four straight singles from their top four hitters put them ahead 2-0 before an out was recorded.
Cole Griffith added an RBI-single and
Jae Williams, the ninth hitter in the lineup, drew a bases loaded walk to add to the total. After batting around in the opening frame, Georgia State led by a score of 4-0.
The hosts erased their advantage in the top half of the second with mistakes in the field. Four walks, two hit batters, and an error opened the door for Alabama A&M to take an early 6-4 lead. The Panthers got one back in the bottom half of the second, but remained in a trailing position, 6-5.
With two outs on the board in the fourth inning,
Cooper Milford's first collegiate hit could not have come at a better time. His single up the middle was enough to bring Griffith and
Jesse Donohoe, turning a one-run deficit into a one-run lead with a single swing of the bat. Williams added an RBI-double to the two-out rally and
Michael Maginnis got four bases the hard way, driving home two runners with a triple and scoring himself on a wild pitch during the next at bat. The explosive fourth put the Panthers ahead by a score of 11-6.
After losing starting pitcher
Sam Schofield to injury in the first inning, the Panthers relied on a bullpen that settled in nicely after a bumpy second.
Brooks Gorman did some heavy lifting with 4.1 innings pitched and
Brian Crooms and
Brantley Upshaw each added a scoreless inning in relief.
Alabama A&M tagged the hosts for a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, but the Panthers responded with six runs across the fifth, sixth, and seventh to pad their lead. They went on to put the lid on a 17-9 series-opening victory over the Bulldogs.
The Panthers return to the GSU Baseball Complex for game two of the series on Saturday at 2 pm.
