Western Carolina
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Western Carolina
3/8/2025 | 2:00 PM
Mar. 08 (Sat) / 2:00 PM
Western Carolina
Western Carolina
History
ATLANTA – William Maginnis tallied three hits, including a three-run triple in the eighth, Andon Lewis homered, and Jacob Crews finished the game with 2.2 shutdown innings to help Georgia State hold off a late rally from Western Carolina and win 12-7 at the GSU Baseball Complex on Friday night.
The win gives Georgia State (11-3) their best 14-game start to a season in program history.
GSU led 9-7 with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth when Maginnis belted his base-clearing triple on a 3-2 pitch off the wall in left field to cap his 3-for-5 night and give the Panthers crucial insurance with a 12-7 lead in the ninth inning.
Andon Lewis hit his first collegiate homer in the fifth inning. GSU held a 6-2 lead two outs and two on in the inning when he crushed the first pitch he saw from Catamount starter Dusty Revis over the wall in right center to make it 9-2 Panthers.
Western Carolina (6-8) rallied with three runs in the sixth and threatened again with one out and runners on the corners in the seventh. Jacob Crews came on to pitch and struck out the first batter he faced as the runner on first stole second. He then allowed a two-run single up the middle that pulled the Catamounts within two, but the junior transfer from Winter Garden, Fla. settled in and shut down Western Carolina's offense to earn his first save.
Crews' final line saw him pitch 2.2 innings, allowing no runs on two hits, with one walk and six strikeouts.
Michael Maginnis, the older brother of William, also had a strong day with two hits, and Kaleb Freeman drew a team-high three walks.
Down 1-0 with one out in the third, Jae Williams gave Georgia State its' first hit with a double to left center and scored on a double by Kaleb Freeman, who would then advance to third on a base-hit and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carter Bailey to give GSU a 2-1 lead.
The Panthers would then extend the lead with four more runs on three hits in the fourth. John Beverley drove in the first run with a no-out, bases-loaded infield single with a chopper that bounced high off the ground in front of the batters box and off the pitcher's glove. Two more runs then scored on two wild pitches that moved Beverley to third, and after a strikeout and a walk, Beverley caught the Catamount defense napping when he stole home on a pickoff attempt to first and make it 6-1 GSU.
Panther starter Caleb White (3-1) earned the win with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
Hayden Friese and Noah Quarless recorded four hits each, which led a WCU offense that outhit the Panthers 16-10 and put the leadoff batter on base in every inning.
Game Two of this weekend's series between Georgia State and Western Carolina is on Saturday, March 8 at the GSU Baseball Complex. First pitch is at 2 p.m.
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