When it rains, it pours, and the Georgia State baseball team can’t seem to catch a break.
The Panthers (11-14) gave up 42 runs in three losses over the weekend against first-place conference opponent South Alabama (15-10). They gave up 10 runs in their loss to in-state rival Kennesaw State (11-14) on Wednesday. Now, they will have to try to bounce back against the defending national champions Coastal Carolina (16-10) this weekend in a three-game series.
With the Panthers sitting at 1-5 in conference play, this is a must-win game against a power-house team.
“It’s hard, we are in a tough situation and a tough streak right now,” coach Greg Frady said about the Panthers’ four-game losing streak. “When you’re not on your game, and not playing like you want to, it’s very disappointing. I don’t think we are representing ourselves like we want to.”
The Panthers’ pitching has been the reason for their downfall these past four games. In addition to all the runs they have given up, the pitchers have given up a combined 43 walks during their losing streak.
“I think that starts with confidence, the rhythm and the ability to trust your stuff,” Frady said about all the walks. “When it’s not going good, it’s easy to lose that really crystal clear focus.”
“We’ve pitched really well through the early parts of the season, and then now we have kind of hit a little spot where everything is not necessarily going our way. But I know I got confidence in our pitchers and our players, and I think we’ll get back on it and bounce back.”
It hasn’t been a great season for the Panthers, and Frady knows what the biggest challenge has been for his team.
“I think it’s consistency, you know we’ve been inconsistent,” Frady said. “We’ve got times where we look pretty good, then other times where we don’t really represent the quality of baseball that we have played. I am happy and proud of the team, but we are leaving a little bit out there, and that’s disappointing as a coach.”
Panthers outfielder Ryan Blanton thinks the Panthers can fix those little things to get back on track.
“It’s really going to depend on if we can get all three cylinders clicking,” Blanton said. “The cylinders we need clicking at the same time are defense, pitching and hitting. It seems like if we’re hitting well, then our pitching is struggling. If we’re pitching good, then our hitting is struggling. Defense is pretty consistent, so if we can keep that rolling we’ll be good.”
With the defending champs coming into town, Frady has a clear message for his team heading into the game.
“We definitely will not quit, that’s going to be the No. 1 thing,” Frady said. “I’ll tell you one thing, I’ll make everyone in this organization miserable before we quit. It’s a competitive organization here. Our effort here is to create, maintain and produce a winning culture. It isn’t going our way right now, but we’ll have to turn this around against Coastal Carolina, which will be a great challenge.”
Blanton thinks the team will come out strong against Coastal Carolina to get back on track.
“I don’t have a doubt in my mind that the guys are going to come out ready to show something to them,” Blanton said.
The Panthers’ first game against Coastal Carolina will be at 6 p.m. Friday.
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