DECATUR, Ga. (3/20/16) – The Arkansas State baseball team dropped a 14-6 contest to Georgia State in the series finale Sunday afternoon at the GSU Baseball Complex.

Arkansas State fell to 10-9 overall and 2-4 in league play after opening with six straight SBC games on the road. Georgia State improved to 11-9 and 2-1 in conference play.

Garrett Ford picked up the win for the Panthers with five innings of shutout baseball out of the bullpen. Ford allowed one run (earned) on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts in relief of starter Bryan White. White allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Jarrett Hood led Georgia State with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate with three RBIs. James Clements was 3-for-5 with five runs driven in.

Bryan Ayers wasn't sharp as he allowed eight runs (seven earned) in 2.1 innings on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. The A-State bullpen combined to allow six runs the rest of the way with Tanner Kirby, Zach Haake, and Tony Ortiz making scoreless appearances. Austin Baker and Tim Seldomridge led the team with two hits apiece, while Garrett Rucker drove in two.

A-State jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Ty White, who hit the first pitch of the game up-the-middle for a single, scored on a Matt Burgess hit with two outs in the frame. However, the Panthers responded in the bottom of the first with two run-scoring singles and a sacrifice fly to take a 3-1 edge on the Red Wolves.

Arkansas State wasted little time striking back with two runs in the top of the second inning. The first run scored on a Joe Schrimpf single with two outs before a second run crossed the plate on a wild pitch that struck out Rucker. Rucker advanced to first, but a strikeout ended the inning with the two teams tied 3-3.

Georgia State blew things open with a seven-run third inning that saw the Panthers send 11 hitters to the plate. Hood led off with a double, but Ayers struck the next batter out. However, GSU had three more hits in the frame, including a two-run single by Hood, and used an A-State error and four walks to put the score at 10-3 going into the fourth inning.

The Red Wolves scored three in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit to four runs at 10-6. Rucker hit a two-run double to left-center field before a RBI double by Baker cut into the Georgia State lead. However, Joey Roach hit an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the fifth and the Panthers scored three more in the bottom of the sixth to put the score at 14-6. Neither team was able to cross the plate over the final three innings.

Arkansas State travels to Missouri State, currently ranked No. 12, Tuesday night for a midweek matchup with the Bears. First pitch from Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo., is set for 6:35 p.m.

For the latest on A-State baseball follow the team by logging onto the Arkansas State Baseball Facebook page or by following the team on Twitter (@ASTATEBaseball) and Instagram (arkansasstatebaseball).