ATLANTA -- Elian Merejo hit his second home run of the opening weekend and Josh Smith drove in the go-ahead runs with an eighth-inning double as Georgia State rallied for a 9-7 win over Saint Peter's Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex to improve to 3-0 under first-year head coach Brad Stromdahl.

The Panthers swept the Atlanta Challenge with victories over 2019 NCAA regional team Cincinnati, St. John's and Saint Peter's.

Merejo's homer capped a weekend in which he went 7-for-11 with two homers, two doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored, despite being walked five times, including three intentional walks.

Georgia State (3-0)  fell behind 5-0 after a sloppy first two innings in which they committed six errors, and the Panthers still trailed 5-1 before getting things going in the fifth inning. After Kyle Riesselmann walked and Cheney was hit by a pitch, Merejo gave the Panthers a jolt with his three-run blast to left field, his second homer and seventh hit of the weekend that pulled GSU within 5-4.

One inning later, GSU took the lead with another three-run inning, again started by Riesselmann, who doubled to the gap in right center with one out. Cheney walked, and after both runners moved up on a double steal, Merejo was intentionally walked to load the bases. Smith tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center field, and then Kalen Puckett gave GSU its first lead with a double to right center. Another run scored on a wild pitch to put the Panthers up 7-5 after six.

Saint Peter's managed to tie the game on Hunter Mason's two-run double in the top of the eighth, but the Panthers answered in the bottom half. Cheney drew a one-out walk, Merejo was intentionally walked for the second time, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. With a drawn-in infield, Smith lined the ball over the second baseman's head and into the gap in right center, scoring Cheney and Merejo for the 9-7 lead.

Freshman lefty Brandon Haston (1-0) came on in the top of the eighth with two on and two outs and struck out Travis Koerner for the third out. He finished the game with a scoreless ninth, including two more strikeouts, to earn his first victory.

Two other freshmen turned in strong relief outings. Right-hander Duncan Lutz threw two scoreless innings, and then righty Chad Treadway kept the Peacocks off the scoreboard in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before allowing one run in the eighth. He struck out five in 3.2 innings.

Georgia State plays at Gardner-Webb Tuesday and then returns home to host a weekend series vs. Bryant, beginning Friday at 4 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.