Cullowhee, N.C. – Georgia State scored early in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader in sweeping two games from Western Carolina 5-3 and 14-7 in nonconference baseball action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
 
The Panthers used a pair of solo home runs in the top of the first inning to take a lead they would never relinquish in fending off WCU for the 5-3 victory in the opener. Then in the nightcap, Georgia State scored 10 runs over the opening three frames in claiming the best-of-three series by sweeping the doubleheader with a 14-7 victory.
 
Mason Holton and Kyle Harbison both collected two hits in the series opener while Kyle Riesselmann and Hayden Friese had two hits apiece in game two for the Catamounts. Jack Spyke was the only WCU player to reach with a base knock in both games, finishing two hits on the day with one in both games.
 
The three-game nonconference series concludes on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch and will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.
 
Game 1 – Georgia State 5, Western Carolina 3
Solo first-inning home runs by Matt Ruiz and Will Mize staked visiting Georgia State to a 2-0 lead and the Panthers managed to fend off Western Carolina to claim the series opener 5-3 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Matt Ruiz belted a one-out solo home run to right and two batters later, Will Mize hit a solo shot to left as the Panthers jumped on top 2-0 in the opening frame. Looking to answer in the home half, WCU loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a pair of infield singles and a walk but were turned back without scoring.
 
The two-run margin remained until the Catamounts lit the scoreboard with a solo marker in the home half of the fourth inning. Mason Holton collected the first of his two hits with a two-out double down the right-field line and was driven home by Kyle Harbison on a run-scoring single punched through the right side to make it 2-1 through four complete.
 
Georgia State reclaimed its two-run cushion in the top of the seventh inning as graduate transfer Henry Koehler drew a one-out walk and scored from second on an RBI single by Jesse Donohoe for a 3-1 lead.
 
Michael Maginnis pushed the guests ahead by four with a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning. WCU answered, though, in the home half as Zach Ketterman laced a two-RBI single to center plating both Hayden Friese and pinch-hitter Nate Stocum. WCU would strand two in the frame, though, with the tying run left at first base.
 
The Catamounts worked around a pair of two-out base runners in the top of the ninth to preserve the two-run deficit. However, WCU could not muster ninth-inning magic as the top of the lineup was retired in order for the final, 5-3.
Making his first start as a Catamount, transfer Dusty Revis (1-1) was saddled with the loss despite striking out a team-best six against three walks with two runs on four hits allowed over six innings of work. Jackson Reid struck out two with three runs allowed on four hits, while Paddy McGonigal worked around a walk with a strikeout in an inning of one-hit, scoreless relief.
 
Rob Evans (2-1) struck out eight over six innings in the starting role for the Panthers, scattering five hits and only surrendering one run. Brady Jones earned his first save of the season with an effective three-inning relief appearance, countering a pair of walks with three strikeouts while allowing two unearned runs on two hits.
 
Holton and Harbison both finished 2-for-3 for the Catamounts in the loss as the bottom two in the order both reached three times – Holton adding an HBP and Harbison drawing a walk. Friese also reached twice with a pair of walks with the remaining WCU hits scattered between three players.
 
Donohoe and Mize both finished with two-hit outings as Georgia State managed a 9-to-7 edge in the hit column that included three home runs for the Panthers.
 
 
Game Two – Georgia State 14, Western Carolina 7
Ten runs scored over the first third of game two on Saturday afternoon led Georgia State to the doubleheader sweep over Western Carolina.
 
The Panthers hit a pair of three-run home runs – one in the five-run first and the other accounting for each run in the three-run second – to grab the early 8-0 lead through two complete. The visitors tacked on a two-spot in the top of the third to race to the lead they would never relinquish.
 
Western Carolina managed a crooked number of its own with a three-run home half of the third inning as Trent Turner collected his lone hit of the twin bill on a single up the middle. A stolen base and two wild pitches later, the Waynesville product dotted home plate for the Catamounts first run. Consecutive RBI doubles by former Georgia State Panther Kyle Riesselmann and Hayden Friese capped the three-run inning and closing the Catamounts to within seven, 10-3.
 
Georgia State recovered those three runs in the top of the sixth inning, though as Will Mize collected his second home run of the game – and third of the doubleheader – with a three-run blast to left to make it 13-4 midway through the sixth inning. Riesselmann legged out his second double of the game and took third on a balk before Friese bounced out to the right-side of the infield to plate the run on the RBI groundout.
 
Drew Needham, who replaced James Hinson at first base in the top of the frame, collected his first base knock of the early season with a two-run home run that cleared the fence in right field as a part of WCU's three-run seventh inning. Elijah Smith delivered his first collegiate RBI with a sacrifice fly to bring Jack Spyke home and trim the margin to six, 13-7.
 
However, it would prove to be as close as the Catamounts would get as Dylan Strickland delivered a run-scoring single through the left side in the top of the ninth before WCU was retired in order in the home half in the 14-7 decision.
 
Riesselmann (2-for-3) with a pair of doubles and Friese (2-for-3) with a single and a double highlighted WCU's offensive performance with Needham belting his first homer of the season. Nate Stocum also doubled down the first-base line but was stranded at third in the seventh inning.
 
Mize led all batters with three hits including a single and the pair of three-run homers, collecting six combined RBI in the win. Ryan Dyal reached base four times with two hits including a double, adding two walks, while Strickland doubled in his two-hit effort with an RBI.
 
Dylan Wheeler (1-1) took the loss for the Catamounts as he was lifted after 1.2 innings with seven runs on four hits allowed. The redshirt junior from Garner, N.C., struck out two against three walks. Ryan White struck out three over an inning and a third before Davis Budd calmed the storm with three strikeouts over three relief innings, scattering three runs and two hits. Cannon Pickell and Griffin Guinther both tossed a hitless, scoreless inning before Maret Drye and Shane Huntsberger finished it off.
 
Georgia State starter Ross Norman did not factor into the win, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out two with a trio of walks. Norman also threw four wild pitches. Sam Schofield (1-1) scored the victory, striking out three against one walk in 3.1 innings of four-run, three-hit relief. Duncan Lutz finished a third of an inning shy of the required three-inning save, striking out a game-high five over 2.2 innings of a one-hit, scoreless effort.
 
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