In the 90th meeting all-time between the two schools, the Georgia State baseball team rallied to cut Mercer's lead in half, but Mercer pulled away with four runs in the seventh to defeat the Panthers 8-2.

The Panthers (0-4) managed nine hits against Mercer, with senior Aeden McQueary and sophomore Matt Van Horn each collecting two.  With State trailing 4-0, it was McQueary's second hit of the game - a bases loaded single into left - that plated sophomore Chase Childers and junior Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas to make the score 4-2 in the top of the seventh.

That would be as close as the Panthers would get, as Mercer (3-3) would answer with four runs in the home half of the inning, with senior Josh Thompson delivering the final blow on a two-run triple to salt the game away.

Thompson struck the first blow of the game for Mercer with a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Bears a 2-0 lead.  Single runs in the second and the fourth gave Mercer a 4-0 advantage until State's rally in the seventh.

Freshman Andy Reid took the loss for Georgia State.  Reid went 1.2 innings, giving up three runs on two hits while walking five and striking out one.  Redshirt sophomore Joel Reeves worked the next 1.2, allowing a single run.  Senior Jeramy Compton entered in relief and had a solid outing going until the seventh, when he was relieved by junior Kevin Dooley.  Drew Grant pitched a scoreless home half of the eighth for the Panthers.

Junior Boone Webster earned the win for Mercer to improve to 2-0.  Webster did not allow a run in five innings of work.

The two teams will meet twice more this season, with the next contest coming in two weeks at The Field at Panthersville.  After playing their first four games on the road, the Panthers will open up their home schedule this Saturday at 5:00 p.m. against Alabama State.