What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State rallied with two runs in the seventh to pull within 4-3 before falling 6-3.
* Senior pitcher Jerry Stuckey made his 82nd career appearance to break the GSU record.
* In first place in the Sun Belt, GSU hosts UALR in a conference series this weekend.
ATLANTA -- Georgia State fell to Georgia Tech 6-3 Wednesday evening at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Justin Jones and Sam Few each had two hits and an RBI for the Panthers, but Georgia Tech built a 4-1 lead and then held off the Panthers.
Georgia State (17-13) trailed 4-1 in the seventh inning when the Panthers mounted a two-out rally. Ryan Blanton doubled to right and then scored on Justin Jones' double inside the bag at third. Then Caden Bailey delivered a run-scoring single to right center to pull the Panthers within 4-3.
But Georgia Tech (19-10) answered with a two-out rally of its own in the eighth, scoring two insurance runs to push its lead to 6-3.
The Panthers tried to rally again in the eighth, bringing the tying run to the plate with one out after Sam Few singled and Trae Sweeting was hit by a pitch. But Georgia Tech turned an ining-ending double play.
"Something that I talk about a lot with the team is winning the decisive moments in the game, and tonight we didn't do that," GSU head coach Greg Frady said. "We hit into two crucial double plays, and we had a couple of two-out opportunities that we couldn't cash in on. That's what I really didn't like about the game. What I did like about the game is that there was a lot of fight in our team. We fought from behind on all night long.
"When it was 4-3 and we had two outs in the eighth, I thought if we could get them out in the eighth, we were going to win the game. But when they picked up those runs in the eighth, it became much more difficult."
Georgia Tech left-hander Ben Parr (4-1) pitched 5.2 innings and allowed just one on six hits. Zac Ryan recorded the final five outs for his fifth save.
GSU starter Marc-Andre Habeck (3-4) allowed four runs in five innings to take the loss.
Senior reliever Jerry Stuckey made his 82nd career appearance to become Georgia State's all-time leader, surpassing Bobby Bennett (2005-08).
Georgia State continues its homestand with a Sun Belt Conference series this weekend as UALR visits for three games at the GSU Baseball Complex, beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
