GREENVILLE, S.C.--Furman rallied in the bottom of the ninth to cut the Georgia State lead to 4-2, but reliever Scott Boatman made Cole Hubka line out to preserve the victory for the Panthers in baseball action Tuesday night at Furman Baseball Stadium.
With the win, Georgia State improves to 22-31 on the year, while Furman falls to 21-30.
The Panthers began the scoring in the first inning after Dustin Phillps scored on a Rusty Bennett ground-out, giving Georgia State a 1-0 lead. In the second, the Panthers extended their lead to 2-0 when Garrett Greer blasted a home-run to left field.
Georgia State starter Jason Payne (3-1) kept the Paladins' bats quiet over the first five innings before leaving in the middle of the sixth due to a sore back. Issac Hanyes came on in relief for Payne and continued to keep the Paladins quiet at the plate until the ninth.
In the eighth inning, the Panthers added to their lead, scoring two runs on two hits and one Paladin error. Kyle Breitbach plated the first run of the inning on an RBI single. Sean Fitzgerald followed with a sacrifice bunt, which scored Bretibach to give Georgia State a 4-0 lead.
In the ninth, however, Furman began to rally, chasing Hanyes from the game after allowing the first two batters to reach base. Scott Boatman entered in relief and proceeded to give up a base hit to Danny Rueckel, which drove in Ryan Presnell, slicing the Panthers¹ lead to 4-1. The Paladins plated another run on a Brandon Barrett sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 4-2, but Boatman picked up the save when Cole Hubka lined out to end the game.
Brian Corcoran (1-4) pitched four innings, allowing four hits and two runs to take the loss.
Georgia State ends its season in a three-game conference away series against Florida Atlantic. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Furman now faces nationally-ranked South Carolina on Wedenesday at Sarge Frye Field. The game is slated to start at 7:00 p.m.