Home at Last, Baseball Hosts Mercer Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Next Nine Games Are Against In-State Foes

GEORGIA STATE (5-16) vs. MERCER (10-9)
Tuesday, March 23 | 6 p.m. | GSU Baseball Complex

PROBABLE PITCHERS
GSU Fr. RHP Dylan Matela (0-3, 11.81) vs. MU RHP Josh Farmer (1-0, 7.15)

LEADING OFF
> After playing 16 straight road games, Georgia State finally returns home for three straight, beginning Tuesday vs. Mercer in a 6 p.m. game at the GSU Baseball Complex.

> The Panthers next nine games are against in-state foes: Mercer, Kennesaw State (Home, March 26-27; Away March 27-28), Georgia Southern (Home, April 1-3) and Mercer (Away, April 6).

> Facing the nation's toughest non-conference schedule, the Panthers opened the season with 18 straight games against Power 5 opponents, including 14 nationally-ranked foes.

> Georgia State's played its first 14 games against ranked foes, including four victories:
No. 14 West Virginia twice, 7-6 (10) and 20-4 (home)
No. 2 Vanderbilt, 4-2 (away)
No. 10 Georgia Tech, 10-1 (away)

> Georgia State opened Sun Belt Conference play last Friday with a 4-3 win at ULM as freshman right fielder Dalton Pearson led the Panthers. GSU trailed 2-1 after five innings, but Pearson's two-run single in the sixth put the Panthers up 4-2. Then in the bottom of the sixth, after ULM pulled within 4-3, he threw out the potential tying run at the plate.

> In the win over ULM, starting pitcher Ryan Watson allowed no earned runs in six innings to earn his 10th career victory, the most of any active GSU pitcher. He struck out seven and walked none.

> Sophomore outfielder Josh Smith is the Panthers' hottest hitter after going 4-for-5 with two RBI Sunday at ULM. He is hitting .400 over the last five games, raising his season average to .304, including home runs at Tennessee and at Kentucky.

> Freshman right-hander Mason Patel was named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week after leading GSU to a win at No. 10 Georgia Tech (March 3). He pitched six scoreless inning and allowed just four hits while striking out eight, the most strikeouts for a GSU freshman since 2013. Backing the strong pitching effort in the win at Tech were Will Mize (2-for-4, 2-run HR, 2B, 3 RBI) and Kyle Riesselmann (2-run HR, 3 RBI).

> The Panthers earned a Friday night, 4-2 victory at No. 2 Vanderbilt (Feb. 26), the highest-ranked team GSU has ever beaten. Previously, the highest ranked team GSU had ever defeated was No. 3 Georgia Tech in 2010, 10-1.
> In the win over Vandy, starting pitcher Ryan Watson threw five strong innings (1 run, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts) and Elian Merejo provided key insurance runs with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. Vandy put the tying runs on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Chad Treadway recorded the final two outs for the save.

> Georgia State opened the season with a four-game series split against No. 14 West Virginia. After falling 5-3 in 10 innings on Opening Day, Georgia State swept the Saturday doubleheader with a 7-6 walk-off win on Elian Merejo's two-out single in the 10th, and then a 20-4 victory in the nightcap. GSU then held WVU to just three hits in the series finale, but the Mountaineers managed a 3-2 victory.

> The Panthers' 20-4 win in Game 3 of the WVU series represents the most runs GSU has ever scored against a ranked foe. Georgia State jumped on the Mountaineers with an 11-run first inning and never looked back.

> Georgia State leads the Sun Belt and is tied for ninth in D-1 with 17 double plays turned.

> Second-year head coach Brad Stromdahl took over the Georgia State program in 2020 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 his last two years (2018-19). Before going to Georgia Gwinnett in November 2011, Stromdahl spent five seasons (2007-11) as an assistant coach at Georgia State.

SERIES VS. MERCER
> Mercer is Georgia State's most frequent opponent as the two schools have played 120 times since 1967. Every year that GSU has fielded a baseball team, it has played Mercer at least once.

> In 2020, Georgia State hosted Mercer in its second-to-last game before the shutdown. Both teams were hitless and scoreless through the first five innings as GSU starter Tyler Koch tied his career high with seven strikeouts in four hitless, scoreless frames before giving way to the bullpen. But Mercer scored five runs in the sixth inning and went on to win 9-5.

> Mercer leads the series 69-51, but Georgia State has won five of the last eight meetings.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Tyler Koch: LHP; 6' 1"; Senior; L/L

#18 Elian Merejo: C; 6' 0"; Senior; R/R

#14 Will Mize: INF; 6' 2"; Freshman; R/R

#3 Kyle Riesselmann: OF; 6' 3"; Freshman; R/L

#44 Josh Smith: OF; 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

#20 Chad Treadway: RHP; 6' 1"; Freshman; L/R

#25 Ryan Watson: RHP; 6' 2"; Sophomore; R/R

#2 Mason Patel: RHP; 6' 2"; Freshman; R/R

#9 Dalton Pearson: OF; 6' 0"; Freshman; R/R

#40 Dylan Matela: RHP; 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#23 Tyler Koch
: 6' 1"; Senior; L/L
: LHP

#18 Elian Merejo
: 6' 0"; Senior; R/R
: C

#14 Will Mize
: 6' 2"; Freshman; R/R
: INF

#3 Kyle Riesselmann
: 6' 3"; Freshman; R/L
: OF

#44 Josh Smith
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#20 Chad Treadway
: 6' 1"; Freshman; L/R
: RHP

#25 Ryan Watson
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

#2 Mason Patel
: 6' 2"; Freshman; R/R
: RHP

#9 Dalton Pearson
: 6' 0"; Freshman; R/R
: OF

#40 Dylan Matela
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: RHP