Final Home Series as Panthers Host Little Rock; Senior Day Saturday

GEORGIA STATE (15-35, 10-11) vs. LITTLE ROCK (20-26, 10-11)
May 20-22 | GSU Baseball Complex

THE SERIES
Thursday, 6 p.m.
Friday, 4 p.m.
Saturday, 1 p.m. (Senior Day)

PROBABLE PITCHERS
Game 1:    Fr. LHP Cameron Jones (1-6, 4.88) - Career-high 7 K's vs. Coastal & Georgia Southern
Game 2:    So. LHP Dawson Sweatt (2-2, 4.60) - 2nd on team with 19 appearances (2 starts)
Game 3:    Fr. RHP Chad Treadway (1-4, 6.66) - Earned save vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt

LEADING OFF
> Coming off a series sweep at Texas State, Georgia State concludes the regular season by hosting Little Rock Thursday through Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex. Eight GSU seniors will be honored at Saturday's Senior Day.

> Georgia State enters the final weekend in fifth place in the East Division, but the Panthers can still finish anywhere from second to sixth.

> The Panthers played their best baseball of the season at Texas State to earn their first Sun Belt sweep since 2018 (vs. Arkansas State) and first on the road since 2015 (at UTA). GSU hit .333 in the series, including six homers and eight doubles.

> Josh Smith earned his second Sun Belt Player of the Week award this week after hitting .583 and slugging 1.250 in the Texas State series, including two homers, two doubles and five RBI. Smith is the Panthers' leading hitter with a .325 average, eight homers and 28 RBI. He is hitting .366 in Sun Belt games.

> The key to the sweep was the GSU bullpen, which compiled a 1.53 ERA with two wins and two saves. In 17.2 innings, Panther relievers allowed just three runs on 11 hits with 18 strikeouts and only six walks. Top performances included Chandler Dawson (Game 1 Save, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H), Tyler Koch (Game 2, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 6 K), Ryan Watson (Game 2 Win, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 7 K), Duncan Lutz (Game 3 Win, 2.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H) and Seth Clark (Game 3 Save, 2.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 K).

> Head coach Brad Stromdahl earned career win No. 350 in the first game vs. Texas State.

> The baseball team compiled a 3.2 grade point average for the spring semester. Twenty-four team members earned academic honors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, led by Duncan Lutz and Pablo Barquero on the President's List (4.0+ GPA).

> Georgia State's 2021 season includes:
   *4 wins over ranked opponents, including two Top 10 wins
   *20 games vs. Power 5 opponents, including 16 games vs. ranked teams
   *4 walk-off wins
   *7 wins in which the Panthers were trailing or tied after 6 innings

> Second baseman Griffin Cheney has started Georgia State's last 120 games at 2B, SS or 3B. In those 120 games, he has failed to reach base only 13 times.

> Freshman right fielder Dalton Pearson is hitting .438 over the last five games, including his best game at the plate May 2 vs. Coastal Carolina with five RBI on a three-run homer, his first, and a two-run double. He also threw out a runner at the plate for the third time this season, and then in Game 3 at Texas State, he made a spectacular leaping catch at the wall to prevent a home run that would have tied the game in the sixth inning.

> Senior left-hander Tyler Koch pitched in his 78th game at Texas State and now stands third in GSU history in career appearances. The only GSU pitchers to appear more are Jerry Stuckey (92, 2012-15) and Bobby Bennett (81, 2005-08).

> Freshman LHP/1B Cameron Jones is making an impact on the mound and at the plate. The Panthers' Friday starter struck out a career-high seven last week against Coastal Carolina while allowing just one run on two hits in six innings in the 2-1 victory. That followed his complete game the previous Friday at South Alabama. At the plate, he delivered the game-tying, RBI-double in the 14th inning vs. Wofford and then came around to score the winning run.

> Six current Panthers earned their degrees this spring: Pablo Barquero, Griffin Cheney, Dalton Davies, Ryan Glass, Will Goldberg and Elian Merejo. They join Tyler Koch, who graduated in 2020, as Georgia State graduates.

> Shorstop Will Mize was rated among the Top 150 College Prospects for the 2022 MLB Draft by Perfect Game, and outfielder Dalton Pearson was tabbed to the Top 100 College Prospects for the 2023 Draft.

> Fifth-year senior Elian Merejo has provided some huge hits this season:
- Walk-off single with two outs in 10th inning for 7-6 win over No. 14 West Virginia
- Two-run homer in top of 9th inning for crucial insurance runs in 4-2 win at No. 2 Vanderbilt
- Go-ahead, three-run homer in 7th inning for 7-5 win over Troy
- Game-tying two-run double in bottom of 9th vs. Wofford (GSU won 4-3 in 14)

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Players Mentioned

#22 Pablo Barquero: LHP; 6' 0"; Junior; L/L

#21 Griffin Cheney: INF; 5' 11"; Junior; R/R

#4 Seth Clark: LHP; 6' 3"; Sophomore; L/L

#28 Dalton Davies: C-OF; 6' 0"; Senior; R/R

#34 Chandler Dawson: RHP; 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R

#31 Ryan Glass: INF; 6' 4"; Junior; R/R

#19 Will Goldberg: C; 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R

#27 Cameron Jones: LHP/OF; 6' 1"; Freshman; R/L

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

#39 Duncan Lutz: RHP; 6' 5"; Freshman; R/R

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

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

Players Mentioned

#22 Pablo Barquero
: 6' 0"; Junior; L/L
: LHP

#21 Griffin Cheney
: 5' 11"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#4 Seth Clark
: 6' 3"; Sophomore; L/L
: LHP

#28 Dalton Davies
: 6' 0"; Senior; R/R
: C-OF

#34 Chandler Dawson
: 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R
: RHP

#31 Ryan Glass
: 6' 4"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#19 Will Goldberg
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R
: C

#27 Cameron Jones
: 6' 1"; Freshman; R/L
: LHP/OF

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

#39 Duncan Lutz
: 6' 5"; Freshman; R/R
: RHP

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

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