AUDIO INTERVIEWS
Freshman Paige Nowacki
Freshman Whitney Phillips
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Georgia State freshman Whitney Phillips went 5-for-7 with two homers and seven RBI as the Panthers swept James Madison, 7-1 and 9-2, in a Saturday doubleheader. The two teams will close out the series tomorrow with a single game at noon.
Phillips went 4-for-4 with two homers in game two. Freshman Paige Nowacki had three RBI and three hits on the day. On the day Phillips and junior Lauren Jones scored a combined nine runs.
Georgia State improved to 29-13 overall, 8-3 in the CAA, while James Madison fell to 16-28, 4-7 CAA.
Game One - Georgia State 7, James Madison 1
Freshman McCall Langford (11-2) pitched five innings, allowing no runs, as the Panthers won game one, 7-1. Sophomore Alana Thomas tossed the final two innings to earn her second save. McCall and Thomas allowed 10 hits, but the Panthers turned three double plays to keep the Dukes off the scoreboard until the seventh inning.
The Panthers got the scoring underway when they picked up a single run in the second after Nowacki hit an infield single that scored Lauren Jones. A Jones fly out scored Cassie Boese in the third before a wild pitch by JMU pitcher Cara Stecher (8-11) plated Elizabeth Thomas to make the score 3-0 after three.
GSU exploded in the sixth for four runs on the strength of Phillips' triple that scored three runs. Earlier in the inning Audrey Mason singled to right center, scoring Lauren Fetters.
Leading the way for the Panthers was Phillips who had a triple and three RBI. Audrey Mason had two hits, as did Lily Skelton and Jones. Jones and Boese each scored two runs.
JMU scored its only run in the seventh on an Ashley Burnham solo homer.
Game Two - Georgia State 9, James Madison 2
Phillips continued her hot streak in game two smashing two homers and driving in four runs as GSU swept the Dukes, 9-2.
Phillips hit a single in the second and fifth innnings and a homer in the third and sixth.
In the second inning, Nowacki singled to center field scoring Phillips and Jones to put the Panthers ahead for good, 2-1. In the third, Phillips hit her first homer of the season, scoring Jones.
The fifth inning yielded three runs for GSU as Tiffany Bess pinch hit for the Panthers and promptly hit a single to right field, plating Phillips and Jones. Later in the inning, Boese singled to the shortstop. scoring Rachel Cunningham.
A Phillips' two-run homer in the sixth provided the Panthers with their final two runs of the contest. The homer also scored Mason.
Thomas (9-3) picked up the win going 2.1 innings allowing only a single hit. Starter Heather Lowry pitched 3,2 innings allowing two runs on seven hits. Middle Reliever Erin Collins pitched a single inning allowing no hits.
Nowacki went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Bess had a pair RBI on her single.
James Madison scored its runs in the first and fourth innings on a single by Katie Spitzer and an Ashley Burnham single.
