FURMAN TIES SINGLE SEASON WINS RECORD WITH 10-6 VICTORY OVER GEORGIA STATE
MARIETTA, Ga. – Sam McLain belted a grand slam in the eighth inning as
Furman rallied to beat Georgia State 10-6 in baseball action Wednesday evening
at East Cobb Complex. With the win, the Paladins reached the 30-win mark for
the second time in school history. In 2001, Furman finished the season with
a 30-25 record, which was the most wins in Furman baseball history.
Georgia State (25-26) took an early lead off Kevin Kawasaki’s infield single
off Furman starter Calvin Hurst drove in Tim Burgess. The Panthers added to
the lead when Stephen Burroughs doubled to right center, scoring Dustin Phillips.
Furman (30-21), which has now won six straight games, busted out off Panther
starter Andrew Rush in the sixth inning. Craig Caudill drove in a run with a
bases loaded groundout and Dominic Frankey gave the Paladins the lead with a
two-out single to left field, bringing home two runs. Stephen Burroughs gave
Georgia State the lead in the bottom of the frame with a two-run homer to left
center field.
GSU reliever Braden Staranchuk (0-1) did well after entering for Rush, but ran
into trouble in the eighth. Isaac Haynes entered with the bases loaded and struck
out Frankey, but did not have similar results with McLain. McLain belted a 1-0
pitch over the left field wall, giving Furman a 7-4 lead.
The Panthers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth, as a wild pitch
and an RBI-single from Phillips brought Georgia State within one. A double play
effectively killed the rally, as the Panthers left the inning down a run.
Furman added three runs on two outs in the ninth with a single from Craig Caudill
and an inside-the-park home run from Derek Norman, which extended his hitting
streat to sixteen games. Sam Perry (1-0) picked up the win despite giving up
two runs in the eighth, as David Mitchell shutdown the Panther bats for his
sixth save of the season.
Furman returns to action for its home series finale against Charleston Southern
this weekend. The Paladins meet the Bucs for a single game on Friday at 7:00
p.m. and a 1:00 p.m. game on Saturday.