SCHEDULE UPDATE:
Georgia State's game at Gardner-Webb, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been moved to Wednesday at 4 p.m. due to inclement weather.
Georgia State is off to a 3-0 start under first-year head coach
Brad Stromdahl as the Panthers opened the season with wins over 2019 NCAA Regional team Cincinnati, St. John's and Saint Peters.
Now Georgia State faces its first mid-week test Wednesday at Gardner-Webb (2-1). First pitch is at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs (2-1) are coming off a series win against Appalachian State.
"It's a tremendous start to our new era here, and I'm really happy for our players and our coaches," Stromdahl said. "We played three really good games against three good opponent, and I'm just so happy to be 3-0."
NOTING THE PANTHERS
> Coach Stromdahl took over the Georgia State program after seven seasons as the head coach at Georgia Gwinnett, where he started the program from scratch in 2013 and compiled a record of 328-104. He led the Grizzlies to the Avista-NAIA World Series three times, including the last two years. Before going to Georgia Gwinnett in November 2011, Stromdahl spent five seasons (2007-11) as an assistant coach at Georgia State.
> Georgia State trailed in all three victories. The Panthers behind Cincinnati 5-1 in the third and trailed 8-6 in the bottom of the ninth before winning in 10. After erasing a 2-0 first-inning deficit vs. St. Johns, the Panthers fell behind Saint Peter's 5-0 after two innings, and then saw the Peacocks tie the game in the eighth before GSU scored the winning runs in the bottom half.
> The Panthers have started 3-0 for just the second time since 2011, which was Stromdahl's last year as an assistant coach at GSU.
> Senior DH
Elian Merejo is off to a torrid start, going 7-for-11 with two homers, two doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored for the opening weekend. He also walked five times, including three intentional walks.
> Merejo figured prominently in all three wins. After Cincinnati took a 5-1 lead in the third inning, he responded with a two-run blast to cut the deficit to 5-3. In the 10th inning, he smacked a one-out double and then scored the winning run in the walk-off. He was 2-for-3 with an RBI-single in the Saturday 7-5 win over St. John's. GSU fell behind Saint Peter's 5-1, but Merejo's three-run homer in the fifth inning jump-started the offense and pulled the Panthers within 5-4. Then he was intentionally walked in GSU's three-run sixth inning and again in the eighth inning to set up the game-winning hit by
Josh Smith.
> Senior second baseman
Daino Deas delivered the walk-off win over Cincinnati on Opening Day with a one-out, opposite field single in the bottom of the 10th, scoring
Elian Merejo from second base for 9-8 victory. The Bearcats broke a 6-6 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth, but GSU tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with both runs scoring on wild pitches.
> Georgia State freshmen hurlers earned all three wins and a save in the Panthers' three victories. Five freshmen (
Cameron Jones,
Chandler Dawson,
Duncan Lutz,
Chad Treadway and
Brandon Haston) pitched 12.2 innings and allowed just one run on six hits with 14 strikeouts.
> Freshman reliever
Cameron Jones earned a win vs. 2019 NCAA regional team Cincinnati and a save vs. St. John's in his first two collegiate appearances. The lefty from Kathleen, Ga., pitched 3.2 innings scoreless out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit while striking out four. In the top of the 10th inning against Cincinnati, he pitched a rare Immaculate Inning, striking out the side on nine pitches, to set up the Panthers' walk-off in the bottom half.
> Two freshmen position players are also making an impact in shortstop
Will Mize (.571) and
Kyle Riesselmann (.400).
