ATLANTA -- Georgia State starter
Baley Coleman pitched six strong innings, and the Panthers got two RBIs each from
Will Mize,
JoJo Jackson and
Maximus Martin to down ULM 11-3 and win the Sun Belt Conference series, two games to one. With the victory, the Panthers improved to 5-1 in the Sun Belt and are tied for first in the conference standings with Louisiana.
Coleman (2-0), the graduate transfer from LaGrange College, allowed just one unearned run in six innings. All four hits he allowed were infield hits, and he struck out six with no walks.Â
The right-hander from Hiram, Ga. (South Paulding High School) entered the rotation last weekend, and in his two starts for the Panthers, he is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Coleman went 24-8 in four seasons at LaGrange, an NCAA Division II program.
After jumping in front with two runs in the first inning, Georgia State (13-11, 5-1) led 2-1 before scoring seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
In the fifth, Jackson had a run-scoring single with one out, and then Martin delivered a 2-out, 2-run single to put the Panthers up 5-1.
One inning later, Mize started the scoring with a 2-run single. He later scored on an error, and then
Ryan Dyal's sacrifice fly extended the GSU lead to 9-1.
The Panthers added two more runs on
Matt Ruiz's RBI-double in the seventh and
Taylor Shultz's sacrifice fly in the eighth.
After ULM (13-11, 2-4) managed two unearned runs in the seventh, the GSU bullpen finished the game with scoreless innings by
Aidan McEvoy and
Ross Norman.
Mize, the fifth-year senior from Snellville (Brookwood High School) recorded the 200th hit of his career, becoming the 13th Panther to reach 200 hits, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored.
Georgia State returns to action next weekend by hosting James Madison in a three-game set that will be played Thursday, Friday and Saturday due to the Easter holiday.
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