ATLANTA -- Georgia State fell 16-8 in its series opener vs. ULM Friday at the GSU Baseball Complex.

Luke Leonard had two hits and two RBI for the Panthers (9-21, 2-8 Sun Belt), and Ryan Glass also drove in two.

ULM jumped in front with six runs in the first two innings, including a pair of two-run home runs. Georgia State cut the deficit in half with three runs in the bottom of the second, including Leonard's run-scoring double, Glass' sacrifice fly and Daino Deas' RBI-single.

Meanwhile, GSU starter Hunter Gaddis (1-4) settled into a groove, striking out seven batters in a row over the second, third and fourth innings. But he ran into trouble again in the fifth, when the Warhawks pushed across five runs to take a 9-3 lead.

Gaddis finished with nine strikeouts to move into a tie for third place in GSU history with 222 career strikeouts.

The Panthers scored one in the seventh on Josh Smith's run-scoring single and four more in the eighth, including RBI by Leonard, Glass and Nick Piccapietra.

ULM starter Trey Jeans (1-5) pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits to earn the victory.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.