MOBILE -- Brennan Hudson drove in three runs and Brady Jones pitched four scoreless innings in relief as Georgia State rallied for an 8-3 win at South Alabama in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.

The Panthers (9-9, 1-0 Sun Belt) trailed 3-0 in the fifth inning and had runners at first and third with no outs when the game was halted by lightning, which turned into a five-and-a-half hour delay. When play resumed at 9 p.m. ET, Georgia State immediately scored five runs to take a lead they would not relinquish.

First to the plate after the resumption was Ryan Dyal, who delivered a run-scoring single. After two outs, Hudson doubled to right center to score two and tie the game at 3-all. Michael Maginnis followed with an RBI-double and then scored on error to give GSU a 5-3 lead.

Jones (2-0), the sophomore right-hander, came on in relief in the bottom half and shut down the Jaguars (12-6, 0-1). He pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four to earn the victory.

Georgia State added three more runs in the sixth on three consecutive bases-loaded walks by Hudson, Maginnis and Maximus Martin. Maginnis and Martin drove in two runs each for the Panthers

Freshman righty Ross Norman finished the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Jones, Norman and GSU starter Rob Evans combined to hold the Jaguars to just three hits, only one coming after the restart. The GSU staff struck out 11, including six by Evans in his four innings.

The series concludes with a doubleheader Saturday. Game 1 is at 3 p.m. ET, with Game 2 to follow approximately 45 minutes after.