Williamsburg, Va. -
The
William and Mary Tribe baseball team dropped game one of a three-game series to
the visiting Georgia State Panthers on Thursday night at Plumeri Park,
7-2. With the loss, the Tribe falls to
23-26 on the season and to 13-12 in CAA play, while the Panthers improve to
34-16 on the year and to 14-11 in conference action.
Senior Derrick Osteen
had a RBI single for the College,
while sophomore Ryan Williams
went 2-for-3 with a run scored to lead the Tribe's
offense. Senior Jonathan Slattery
and
junior Tadd Bower
also collected hits for the Green and Gold.
In his fourth start, junior Jay McCarthy
was again solid for
the Tribe. McCarthy allowed two runs,
one earned, in six strong innings. McCarthy
struck out four batters on the night while issuing three walks.
The Panthers were the first team to get on the scoreboard on
Thursday night, pushing across a run in the top of the second on a Bryan
Condotta sacrifice fly to right field.
Georgia State added another run in the top of the fourth, taking a 2-0
lead over the Tribe headed to the bottom of the fifth.
In the fifth, the Tribe got its offense going, tying the
game with a pair of runs. Williams
started the frame with a single and was moved to third on a single through the
right side of the bat of Slattery. With
sophomore Derek Lowe
at the plate, Slattery took off on a steal attempt. After the GSU catcher threw down to second,
Williams took off from third base, scoring easily to cut the lead in half. After a groundout moved Slattery to third,
Osteen plated him with a bloop single to left field, tying the game at 2-2.
After a scoreless sixth, the Panthers reclaimed the lead for
good in the top of the seventh, plating three runs, highlighted by a Rob Lind
two-run home run. The Lind homer was
just the fifth the Tribe had surrendered at Plumeri Park this season.
While the Panthers' offense was clicking, the Tribe was
unable to get anything going offensively in the last four innings. Georgia State tacked on two insurance runs in
the top of the ninth, but they would not need them as the Panthers claimed game
one, 7-2.
The William and Mary Tribe baseball team will continue its
series with the Georgia State Panthers on Friday, May 13. First pitch at Plumeri Park is scheduled for
7 p.m.
