Georgia State’s baseball team was swept last weekend as the Troy Trojans took all three games in a weekend series against the visiting Panthers. Georgia State lost all three games by a total of five runs.
The losses dropped the Panthers’ overall record to 28-23 and their Sun Belt Conference record to 14-11.
The Panthers have lost eight of the last 10 games. They have slid to fourth in the Sun Belt Conference standings and now trail South Alabama by two games with three games remaining on the schedule.
Game One
Georgia State lost game one of the series 4-2 on May 8. The Panthers’ offense was stifled as Troy starting pitcher Grant Bennett tossed a complete game–nine innings.
Bennett allowed two unearned runs to the Panthers who managed six hits against the Trojans’ starter.
Bennett picked up his ninth victory, which is the most in the Sun Belt this season.
Nathan Bates went six innings, allowing three runs and giving up six hits. Bates also struck out six batters.
Troy put up two runs in the first inning with David Hall’s two-run single, giving Troy a 2-0 lead.
Georgia State’s Justin Jones hit a sacrifice fly, which scored David Levy in the third inning. Levy had one of his own that scored James Clements and tied the game at two apiece.
Troy then got a sacrifice fly of their own and gained a 3-2 lead and added another run on a Reid Long solo home run, leading off the seventh inning, increasing Troy’s lead to 4-2.
Troy closed out the final two innings and picked up the 4-2 victory.
Game two
Troy took game two with a 3-2 victory on Saturday and clinched the series victory. Lucas Brown threw the second complete game in a row for Troy.
Brown gave up two first-inning runs to the Panthers who only managed six hits in the game. Brown also struck out six batters.
The Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when freshman Jack Thompson singled home two runs and also extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Troy would score three in the fifth inning to grab the lead and wouldn’t relinquish it, coming out of game two with a 3-2 victory.
Game three
Troy completed the sweep of the Panthers with a 2-0 shutout on Sunday. Troy used three pitchers to combine for the shutout of Georgia State.
Austin Crook started and pitched four and two-thirds of an inning. Marc Skinner also pitched three and one-third of an inning–all of which were scoreless innings on his way to picking up the victory for the Trojans.
Garrett Ford started for the Panthers. Ford pitched five and a third of an inning, allowed two runs, one of which was an earned run, giving up only four hits.
Troy got one of their runs on a wild throw to third base in the fifth inning, giving them a 1-0 lead. Troy then got a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, extending the lead at 2-0.
Troy’s pitching was able to hold Georgia State in check for the rest of the game. The Panthers only managed five hits in the game. Thompson had one of the hits and managed to extend his hitting streak to nine games with a single.
The Panthers wrap up the regular season with a three-game series against rival Georgia Southern starting Friday at the Baseball Complex in Panthersville.
