ATLANTA – Georgia State scored three runs in the fifth inning and four in the sixth inning to break open a 2-1 game and went on to a series-clinching 11-3 win over ULM on Sunday afternoon at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Baley Coleman (2-0) picked up the win on the mound for Georgia State, throwing six innings, allowing an unearned run with four hits and six strikeouts. Aidan McEvoy and Ross Norman each threw a scoreless inning in relief for the Panthers.
Hollis Huff (0-1) suffered his first loss of the season after throwing 1 2/3 innings for ULM in the start, allowing two runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Matt Ruiz, Will Mize, JoJo Jackson and Taylor Shultz had two hits apiece for Georgia State, as Mize, Jackson and Maximus Martin each had two RBIs. ULM managed just six hits, with
Shawn Dalton Weatherbee and
Colby Lunsford picking up two hits each.
The Panthers (13-11 overall, 5-1 Sun Belt Conference) broke the seal in the bottom of the first inning as JoJo Jackson hit a pop up with two outs, but it fell in to shallow right-center field for an RBI double, bringing in Ruiz for the 1-0 lead. Jackson later scored on a wild pitch for the 2-0 advantage.
The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when ULM answered. Haggard reached on a bunt single with two outs. Weatherbee followed with an infield single to third. On the single, Mize fielded at third base and threw wildly to first, allowing Haggard to score all the way from first base to cut the gap in half, 2-1.
GSU broke the game open in the fifth inning. Mize doubled to center and scored on Jackson's RBI single for the 3-1 lead. Martin then hit a 2-out, 2-RBI single to right to plate Jackson and Michael Maginnis for the 5-1 lead.
The Panthers kept it going in the sixth inning, as Mize hit a 2-RBI single to center and later scored on a pair of errors, while Ryan Dyal hit a sacrifice fly to score Jackson and put GSU on top 9-1.
ULM picked up two runs in the seventh inning as Weatherbee scored when
Ian Montz reached on an error and
Jack Clark scored on
Hasani Johnson's fielder's choice to get within 9-3.
However, GSU scored a run in each of the next two innings, as Ruiz hit an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh and Tyler Shultz added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
ULM visits Louisiana Tech at 4 p.m. Tuesday before returning to Lou St. Amant Field to face Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. Thursday.
