Worley's Shutout Leads No. 5 Georgia State to First Round Victory
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – Kensey Caldwell launched her 10th homer of the season and Katie Worley threw a complete-game shutout to lead No. 5 Georgia State to the 8-0 win over rival No. 8 Georgia Southern in the opening game of the 2015 Sun Belt Softball Championship.
Worley pitched five innings and allowed just two hits and walked one en route to her 12th win of the season. Caldwell finished with a team-high three RBI while Megan Litumbe recorded two RBI and Lauren Coleman drove in one. Seven Panthers scored in the game led by Ashley Christy who scored twice.
Georgia State (36-20) started fast with five runs in the bottom of the first. Christy started a one-out rally with a double to left before Drake and Callie Alford singled to load the bases. After Coleman drove in Christy with a sacrifice fly, Litumbe doubled to plate Drake and Alford and put the Panthers up 3-0. Caldwell then blasted a two run homer to push the Georgia State advantage to 5-0 after one.
After three scoreless innings, the Panthers scored three in the bottom of the fifth to secure the 8-0 run-rule victory. Christy opened the inning by reaching on an error. She stole second, Drake singled and Coleman drew a walk to load the bases. Two runs then scored on a second error in the inning by Georgia Southern before Caldwell clinched the win with a walk-off single to right.
Taylor Roger and Breanna McLendon each went 1 for 2 at the plate while Kaitlyn Johnson worked a walk for the Eagles offense. Georgia Southern finished their year with a 12-39 record.
“I am proud of the team for focusing and getting a run-rule win,” head coach Roger Kincaid said. “It’s obviously hard when you play a team four consecutive times and we talked about focusing and making sure we did our jobs.”
Georgia Southern Head Coach Annie Smith said, “Congratulations to Georgia State, I hate to end our season that way. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished this year and I am excited for our future.”
Georgia State will now face No. 4 seed Troy at 3 p.m. CT. The winner of that matchup will advance to the double elimination portion of the tournament where they will play No. 1 seed UL Lafayette.