ATLANTA, Ga. – Freshman righthander Matt Rose came out of the bullpen to pitch 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, leading Georgia State University (31-17, 10-10) to a 6-4 Colonial Athletic Association victory and a doubleheader sweep over Towson University (22-24, 11-9) at the Georgia State Sports Complex on Friday afternoon.

The Panthers, who improved to 21-5 at home, also won the first game, pulling out a 12-11 victory in the bottom of the ninth inning.

In both games, the Panthers scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning en route to the sweep.

In the nightcap, sophomore righthander Paul Beers of Towson took a one-hit shutout and a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, centerfielder Josh Merrigan singled to rightfield. When shortstop Chad Prain and designated hitter Chase Raffield also singled, the Panthers had the bases loaded. First baseman Nic Wilson drew a bases-loaded walk and the Panthers trailed, 4-1. A sacrifice fly by third baseman Caden Bailey cut the deficit to 4-2. When rightfielder Chris Triplett singled to left, Raffield scored to pull Georgia State to within 4-3. A single to centerfield by by rightfielder Mark Hogan tied the game at 4-4. The Tigers looked like they might get out of the inning when second baseman Drew Shields hit a ground ball to junior shortstop Hunter Bennett. The normally sure-handed Bennett made a bad throw to first base as Triplett scored the go-ahead run.

Junior righthander Nik Nowottnick relieved Beers and gave up a double to catcher Joey Roach. Hogan scored to give the Panthers a 6-4 lead but leftfielder Peter Bowles threw out Shields at home plate.

Once he got a lead, Rose gave up only one hit in the final three innings. He retired the final eight hitters in a row.

The Tigers scored single runs in four of the first five innings, building a 4-0 advantage. Third baseman Zach Fisher led off the game and reached second base on a throwing error by Shields. When sophomore second baseman Pat Fitzgerald singled, the Tigers had runners at the corners. Junior designated hitter Kurt Wertz grounded into a force play as Fisher scored the first run of the game. Bowles kept the rally alive when he singled to left. But junior centerfielder Brandon Gonnella was retired on a fly ball to centerfield before junior rightfielder Dominic Fratantuono popped up.

Bennett led off the second inning with a single. When sophomore first baseman Brendan Butler doubled, Bennett scored to give Towson a 2-0 lead. However, Kurtis Voytell hit into a double play and Fitzgerald grounded out to end the inning.

In the third inning, Bowles singled with one out. After he moved to second base on an infield ground out, Fratantuono lined a triple to rightfield, giving Towson a 3-0 lead. However, Fratantuono was stranded at third base when Bennett grounded out.

Bowles led off the fifth inning with a double to left. He reached third base when Gonnella bunted and reached base. When Fratantuono hit a ground ball to third base, Bowles was retired at home plate as he tried to score. A bunt single by Bennett enabled Gonnella to score and gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead. At that point, Rose came in from the bullpen and struck out the next two hitters.

In the second game, Towson outhit Georgia State, 11-8. Bowles led the Tigers with three hits.

Georgia State pulled out a wild 12-11 victory in the opener, winning the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. After Towson had scored four runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game, Shields tripled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Moments later, he scored when Merrigan's ground ball to first base went for an error as Shields scored the game-winning run.

The Tigers, who had a 6-1 lead in the fifth inning, entered the ninth inning trailing by 11-7.Fratantuono led off with a single to rightfield. After Bennett drew a walk, Butler grounded into a force play. Senior catcher Andrew Parker singled to right, driving in a run to make it an 11-8 deficit. Fisher followed with an RBI double to right, pulling the Tigers to within 11-9 with the tying runs in scoring position. A walk to Fitzgerald loaded the bases for Wertz, who already had four hits in the game.

The Tigers scored two runs in the third inning of the opener to take a 2-1 lead. In the second, Fitzgerald walked and Wertz singled. Both runners moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt by Bowles. Moments later, Gonnella singled in a pair runs.

In the fifth inning, the Tigers added four runs to make it a 6-1 lead. After Fitzgerald walked, Wertz tripled to right field to give Towson a 3-1 advantage. A single to left by Bowles enabled Wertz to score and take a 4-1 lead. After Gonnella reached on a bunt single, Fratantuono popped up into a double play. After Gonnella stole second base, Bennett singled to left as Gonnella scored to give Towson a 5-1 advantage. An RBI single by Butler drove in Gonnella as the Tigers took a 6-1 lead.

With one out in the bottom of the sixth, second baseman Caden Bailey started a six-run rally with a single to left. Triplett also singled to put two runners on base. When Hogan reached on a bunt single, the Panthers had the bases loaded. Rose, who played third base in the opener, came through with a double to right, driving in two runs and cutting the deficit to 6-3. At that point, sophomore righthander Nick Cioffi relieved starter Mike Volpe. Roach reached base on an error by Butler as Hogan scored to make it a 6-4 game. Then Merrigan blasted a three-run homer to right, putting the Panthers ahead, 7-6. Cioffi retired the next two hitters to keep the score at 7-6.

In the seventh inning, Gonnella reached base when he was hit by a pitch. After Gonnella reached second base on an infield out, Bennett reached base on an error. A sacrifice fly by Butler enabled Gonnella to score the tying run. After a walk to Parker, Fisher popped up to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Wilson led off with a solo home run to give the Panthers an 8-7 lead. After Cioffi retired the next two hitters, Hogan doubled to right. When Rose reached on an error, Hogan scored to extend the lead to 9-7. A single by Roach kept the rally going. When Merrigan singled to right, Rose scored to give the Panthers a 10-7 advantage. Senior righthander Sean Bertrand relieved Cioffi and allowed a single to shortstop Chad Prain, giving Georgia State an 11-7 lead. Bertrand struck out Raffield to end the inning.

In the opener, the Panthers outhit Towson, 16-14.

Wertz led Towson with four hits and two runs scored while Butler had two hits and drove in three runs.

The Tigers and Georgia State are scheduled to play the series finale on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.