Senior Matt Van Horn went 3-for-3, extending his hitting streak to 17 games, but it was not enough as the Georgia State baseball team fell to #3 Georgia, 11-6 on Wednesday night.
Georgia State fell to 12-6 on the season, while Georgia improved to 16-2.
“It was a very competitive and hard fought game,” commented head coach Greg Frady. “ The team gave a great effort all evening. It was a high intensity game for a long time. It was a weird way to play baseball though as with the midweek game, we were also needing to get ready for the start of CAA play this weekend as William & Mary looms on Friday.”
Along with Van Horn, senior Carl Moniz extended his hitting streak to nine games, going 2-for-4 at the plate.
The Panthers got on the board first as senior Marc Mimeault hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first, scoring leadoff hitter Joey Wood to put State up 1-0. Wood had singled to start the game.
Van Horn would continue the inning with a single, scoring senior Derek Simmons who had singled earlier in the inning.
Georgia would rebound with three runs in the top of the second, capped by a Chase Davidson two run home run to take a 3-2 lead.
The Bulldogs would add a run in the third and fourth to take a 5-2 lead before the Panthers would strike again.
Starter John Locklear (3-1) would be relieved by senior Will Palmer after pitching 3.1 innings, allowing nine hits, five runs and striking out two.
Senior Bradley Logan started the inning with a singled to right. He would score on a Van Horn double to right center, cutting the Bulldog lead to two. Senior Chase Childers would single to third base, scoring Van Horn who had previous advanced on a groundout by freshman Brandon Williams.
Georgia would extend its lead to four in the top of the fifth as Levi Hyams would clear the bases with a two-out bases loaded double.
The Bulldogs would take a 10-4 lead in the top of the sixth as Bryce Massanari hit a two-run home run over the right field scoreboard.
The Panthers would get two back in the bottom of the sixth as Van Horn singled to start the inning. After Williams grounded into a fielder's choice, senior Michael McCree homered to left field, cutting the Bulldog lead to four. It was McCree's first home run of the year.
Unfortunately, that would be the closest the Panthers would get as Georgia added one more in the top of the eighth.
Chase Hawkins (2-0) would get the win for the Bulldogs after pitching 2.1 innings of relief. Starter Alex McRee was scheduled to just pitch the first inning.
The Panthers used a total of seven pitchers. The staff combined for 13 strikeouts after striking out 17 Savannah State batters last night.
Georgia State will begin CAA play on Friday night as the Panthers travel to William & Mary. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. The Panthers will return to Atlanta for a game against cross-town rival Georgia Tech next Tuesday at Russ Chandler Field, first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports South and on WRAS-FM 88.5.
