Georgia State opens Sun Belt baseball tourney with victory

Despite coming into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a lackluster record, the conference tournament provides a clean slate and a brand new season for the young Georgia State Panthers baseball team.

The road to a championship and a berth to the NCAA tournament started Tuesday evening in Montgomery as the Panthers posted a 9-6 win over the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

After both teams went scoreless through the first two innings, Georgia State sounded off with a 3-run blast from left fielder Josh Smith in the third inning.

In the fourth inning, the ULM Warhawks flew back in the game with five runs of their own, taking the lead 5-3. The Panthers answered back in the fifth inning with an opposite field homer from centerfielder Kyle Rieselman, cutting the Warhawk lead to 5-4.

In the sixth, Smith came up big again for the Panthers with a single and his fourth RBI of the day. Add in a throwing error and Georgia State regained the lead, 6-5.

ULM was able to claw back and tie the game at six with a run in the seventh inning.

In the eighth inning, Smith, the offensive star of the game, recorded his fifth RBI on a single to once again give the Panthers the lead. The Panthers offense added insurance with a double from pinch hitter junior Griffin Cheney to extend the lead to 9-6.

Out of the bullpen, Panther junior Trey Horton delivered two strikeouts and slammed the door on a potential Warhawk comeback. Georgia State continues pool play versus in-state rival Georgia Southern on Wednesday at 4 p.m.