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ATLANTA – The Georgia State University baseball team got three hits and seven RBI from Chase Raffield to avoid a series sweep with a 13-2 win over Northern Kentucky University in non-conference action on Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Ben Burns (1-0) got the win on the mound, throwing two innings in scoreless relief of GSU starter Matt Rose, who left the game after four innings. Burns gave up two hits and a walk to the nine batters he faced.
The loss fell to the NKU starter
Wendell Wright (1-0), who surrendered four runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. With the loss, the Norse fell to 3-8 on the season, but picked up their first season series win since taking two of three from Atlantic Sun Conference foe Jacksonville at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex last April.
Offensively for the Norse,
Dominic Faron got his first hit in an NKU uniform, going 2-for-3 on the day, while
Cole Bauml hit his first home run of the season in a 2-for-4 performance.
Cody Kuzniczci also had a pair of hits for a Norse squad that collected nine hits in the contest.
In addition to Raffield's monster day, Chris Triplett and Nic Wilson each posted multi-hit games with three and two hits, respectively, for the Panthers, who improved to 6-5 with the win.
Big innings set the tone early, as Georgia State erupted for four runs in the bottom of the first. After the first three Panther batters reached, a bases-loaded walk to Wilson plated the game's first run. Raffield followed up with a two-run double to right field and Joey Roach concluded the scoring in the frame with a sacrifice fly.
Bauml's leadoff home run in the top of the third inning put the Norse on the board and breathed some life into the NKU dugout. Faron followed up with a single up the middle and
Zac Asman followed up with a scorcher through the right side on a hit and run, but unfortunately the ball struck Faron on the base paths for an out. Asman then put himself in scoring position with his first stolen base of the season, but
Kyle Colletta grounded out to first base to end the threat.
Georgia State crossed the plate four more times in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 9-1. Ryan Blanton led the inning off with a double to the gap in right center and advanced to third base on a miscue by the Norse defense which allowed Chad Prain to reach safely. Greg Bowder followed up with an RBI-groundout to third base before Triplett scored Prain with an RBI-single to center, knocking NKU reliever Garret Schrantz out of the game after two-plus innings.
Aric Harris came on for the Norse and struggled, walking the first batter he faced before Raffield picked up his second double of the day to score two more runs. Raffield closed out his day with a three-run home run in the sixth inning, extending the lead to 12-1.
The Norse got a run back in the eighth when
Anthony Vagnier, who entered the game in a pinch-hitting role singled to bring home
Logan Spurlin, who started a two-out rally with a double, his fifth of the year, which shares in the team lead. Zach Moon responded for the Panthers with an RBI-single in the bottom half of the frame, setting the final score.
With his eighth-inning double, Spurlin has now safely reached base in the last 15 NKU games, dating back to last season, while Asman extended his hitting streak to 10.
NKU now sets its sights on a return to the west coast, opening Spring Break with a three-game series at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. The three-game series starts on Friday with a 9 p.m. Eastern first pitch. Live stats, video and John Asalon's audio broadcast will be available on nkunorse.com.
