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MINNEAPOLIS — Georgia State pounded out 14 hits as the Panthers rallied for a 7-5 victory at Minnesota, splitting the two-game series at Siebert Field.
Cam Sperry delivered a two-run double to tie the game in the sixth inning, and then Romero Greer doubled scored the go-ahead run in the seventh. Georgia State (17-27) relievers Liam Henry and Rhett Harper combined to finish the game with four scoreless innings.
Nick Gatewood and Darius Sewell each went for 3-for-4, and Ryan Blanton drove in a key insurance run in the ninth inning.
Greer led off the fourth inning with a solo homer to left field, his second of the season, to put the Panthers ahead 2-0. After Minnesota (26-15) moved ahead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, GSU tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth when Payton Mann was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Gophers took a 5-3 lead with a pair of runs in the fifth, but Georgia State answered again with a two-out rally in the sixth. Gatewood singled and Sewell walked, and then Sperry drove them both home with a double to left center, tying the game at 5-5.
In the seventh, Greer led off with a double to left center, then moved to third on a sacrifice. That brought up Mike Huggins, who laid down a squeeze bunt to bring home Greer with the go-ahead run.
Huggins also figured in the Panthers’ ninth-inning insurance run as he doubled with two outs and scored on Blanton’s single up the middle.
Henry (1-1) came on in the sixth and retired the Gophers in order in the sixth and seventh. He allowed a leadoff single to Ben Mezzenga in the seventh but picked him off first base and then got the final two outs. He earned the victory with a final line of no runs on one hit with one strikeout in three innings.
Harper pitched a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts for his fourth save.
GSU starter Brandon Baker did not figure in the decision but pitched four innings, allowing three runs on three hits with five strikeouts. Tyler Hanson (4-5) took the loss for Minnesota.
The win is Georgia State’s second this season over a Power Five foe, along with an extra-inning victory at Ole Miss. The Panthers improved to 7-8 all-time against Big Ten teams.
Georgia State now travels to Texas State for a Sun Belt Conference weekend series.
