ATLANTA, Ga. - The
William and Mary baseball team defeated Georgia State, 6-5, Sunday afternoon
from the GSU Baseball Complex. In a
back-and-fourth clash, the College plated three runs in the final two innings, culminating
when senior left fielder Tadd Bower drove in the go ahead run with a double to
right field in the top of the ninth. With the win, W&M improves
to 24-15 on the year and 9-9 in CAA play, while Georgia State falls to 16-21 overall
and 7-8 in league action.
At the plate, Bower went 1-for-3 with the game-winning RBI
and a run scored to lead the Tribe.
Freshman right fielder Josh Smith finished the afternoon with a hit, an
RBI and a run scored, while senior designated hitter Sean Aiken went 2-for-3
with a run driven in. Sophomore third
baseman Ryan Lindemuth and freshman first baseman Michael Katz each finished
the contest with two hits and two runs scored, while senior catcher Chris Forsten rounded out the offensive output with an RBI.
Senior closer RHP John Farrell (1-0) pitched three innings
of relief en route to his first victory of the season. The Andover, Mass., native surrendered no
runs and no hits, and only allowed one base-runner in his 18th appearance of
the year. Senior LHP Cole Shain worked
four innings in his eighth start of the season, while senior RHP Chris Yates
saw an inning of action, as he allowed no runs and no hits. GSU's senior RHP Jake Dyer (2-4) took the
loss in his two innings of action.
Georgia State got on the scoreboard first with a run in the
second inning. Freshman shortstop Canden
Bailey pushed across senior left fielder Landon Bennett with a sacrifice fly
out to right field.
In the top of the third, the Panthers moved ahead, 2-0,
after senior first baseman Brandon Williams connected on a home run down the
left field line.
W&M responded in the top half of the fourth with a trio
of runs, as it took a 3-2 lead. Lindemuth got the action started after he
smashed a double down the right field line.
Katz and Bower then followed with consecutive walks to load the
bases. With no outs and the bases
loaded, Smith drove in Lindemuth with a single to right center field for the
Colleges' first run of the afternoon.
Aiken tied the affair up at 2-2 with an RBI groundout, while Bower gave
the Green and Gold a 3-2 advantage after scoring on an error by Bailey.
GSU regained the advantage after plating two runs in the
bottom half. Senior designated hitter
Joey Wood tied the game up at 3-3 with a solo home run to left field. The Panther's then moved in front, 4-3, after
its second run of the frame culminated on a Tribe error.
The Panthers extended the margin to 5-3 with a run in the
top half of the fifth. Freshman center
fielder Kody Adams scored on Bennett's single to center field.
Down 5-3, W&M tied the affair up after scoring a pair of
runs in the top half of the eighth. Katz
led the inning off with a single to center field and later scored on Aiken's
one out single to right field. With two
outs and Smith on first, Forsten tied the affair up as he scored the freshman
with a single to right field.
In the top of the ninth, the College went ahead for good as
Bower drove in the go ahead run.
Lindemuth led the frame off with a single through the middle of the infield. With one out and Lindemuth on first, Bower
pushed across the Burke, Va., native after he pulled Dyer's initial pitch down
the right field line.
Needing three outs to complete the come from behind victory,
Farrell sat down the first two Panthers on groundouts. After Williams gave GSU a little daylight
with a two out walk, Farrell proceeded to retire the next batter with a fly out
to right field.
The College returns to action on Wednesday, April 18, as it
travels to Greenville, N.C., for a 6 p.m. tilt against the Pirates of East
Carolina University. Fans can follow the
action online at TribeAthletics.com with live stats.
