ATLANTA, GA.-Despite a strong start from Cole Patten, Villanova's offense struggled to drum up runs in a 3-0 loss. Villanova drops to 1-8 while Georgia State improves to 6-5.

The Panthers broke the seal in the second inning when Griffin Cheney sent a solo shot to left for a 1-0 lead.

Villanova's best chance to score occurred in the top of the fifth. Cameron Hassert drew a leadoff walk but was caught stealing. Matt Pinone and Will Reiner later recorded back-to-back walks but were unable to score.

Cheney's dinger was Patten's only blemish of the day. The Seton Hall transfer finished the day with five innings of one-run ball and added nine strikeouts.

Georgia State added some insurance runs in the seventh by way of an RBI single from Cheney and a sacrifice fly from DeAngelo Abboud to stretch their lead to 3-0.

Inside the Box Score
Cole Patten has a new season-high for strikeouts in a single game (9). Patten's ERA is now a miniscule 0.97.
Chris Rotondo went 1-for-3 Saturday, extending his hitting streak to eight games.

Villanova returns to play Sunday, March 6 for the series finale at noon.