Georgia State’s baseball team faces a critical situation in the regular season’s last series at Western Kentucky.
Only the top eight of the Sun Belt’s 10 teams get to participate in the conference tournament. The Panthers (24-29, 10-17) are on the cut line in eighth, a half-game behind South Alabama, a half-game ahead of Troy and a game ahead of Arkansas-Little Rock.
“Our whole focus comes down to this weekend at Western Kentucky,” Georgia State coach Greg Frady said.
The Panthers are 1-2 against Western Kentucky, which is locked into its tournament spot and may use this series to organize its pitching for the tournament.
There are win-loss permutations across three series that would see Georgia State make it into the tournament.
The easiest-to understand is if this: If the Panthers sweep the Hilltoppers, they are in.
If the Panthers win two of three they likely are in.
Anything less than that and things get complicated. Ninth-place Troy is hosting seventh-place South Alabama, which also hasn’t clinched its spot, and 10th-place Arkansas-Little Rock is hosting second-place Arkansas State.
“There are many scenarios, but what it comes down to is winning our games,” Frady said. “We can’t control who else wins or loses. It will all shake out at the end of this weekend.”
Georgia State would win the head-to-head tiebreakers against South Alabama and Troy if all three teams finished tied, but there won’t be any ties because Troy and South Alabama played one less conference game. One of their games was rained out, and conference rules dictate that games that are rained out aren’t made up.
That hurts Georgia State because if they do finish with the same number of wins as Troy and South Alabama, the Trojans and Jaguars will finish with the higher win percentage because they will have one less loss.
It’s not fair, but Frady said he doesn’t worry about it because he can’t change it.
That the Panthers are even in position to make the Sun Belt tournament makes Frady proud.
The team lost Josh Merrigan, one of its best hitters last season, after he transferred to a junior college so that he could be draft-eligible this year.
Starting pitcher/third baseman Matt Rose has a sore arm and has played exclusively as a designated hitter since March 15, limiting some of Frady’s defensive options.
Add in that the Sun Belt is rated by the website boydsworld.com as the ninth-toughest baseball league in Division I, and the Panthers are doing well to be in position to make the tournament.
“It’s a testament to the players’ will to win, the right effort and the right attitude,” Frady said.
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