Baseball 3/14/2022 3:51:00 PM

Winners of 6 of Last 7, Panthers Play at No. 15 Clemson Tuesday

Fifth Ranked Foe in First 17 Games

GEORGIA STATE (10-6) at No. 15 CLEMSON (14-1)
Tuesday, March 15 | 6 p.m. | Doug Kingsmore Stadium

COVERAGE: ACC Network Extra
PROBABLE PITCHER: RHP Camren Landry (1-2, 2.35)

After winning six of the last seven games, Georgia State (10-6) faces its fifth ranked opponent of the season with a midweek trip to No. 18 Clemson (14-1) Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on ACCNX.

JONES NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK BY COLLEGIATE BASEBALL

> Cameron Jones, one of the nation's top two-way players as the Panthers' starting first baseman and closer, was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball.

> The sophomore hit .368 (7-for-19) for the week with two homers, two doubles, six RBI and six runs scored. On the mound, the left-hander earned two two-inning saves against Wofford and Presbyterian, pitching four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and zero walks while allowing just three hits. In both saves, he entered a one-run game in the eighth inning.

> For the season, Jones is hitting .385 with two homers and 13 RBI. He is tied for the Sun Belt lead with four saves while not allowing a run in five appearances covering 8.2 innings. He has 14 strikeouts and two walks.

> Last week, Jones was named the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Week, and in 2021, he was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as the utility player.

LEADING OFF
> The Panthers took two of three from Presbyterian over the weekend, including an 11-6 win Friday and a 10-6 victory in Sunday's series finale. The Blue Hose won the middle game 13-10.

> Georgia State is second in the Sun Belt Conference in home runs (18), league leader Max Ryerson (6) and No. 2 Griffin Cheney (5, tied for second). GSU also ranks second in batting average at .312.

> Max Ryerson leads the Sun Belt Conference with six home runs, seven doubles and 49 total bases. He hit two runs on Opening Weekend vs. Purdue Fort Wayne and then slugged two more at Kennesaw State. In Sunday's win over Villanova, he hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie and send the Panthers to their third straight victory. Ryerson is a junior college transfer from Gulf Coast State, where he was the 2021 Panhandle Conference Player of the Year.

> Super senior shortstop Griffin Cheney is the Panthers' leading hitter with a .436 average, five homers and 12 RBI. He leads the Sun Belt in on-base pct. (.549) and walks and is tied for second in homers, third in batting average and third in runs scored (16).

> Midweek starter Camren Landry has performed well in his first three career starts, compiling a 2.35 ERA with 20 strikeouts and just two walks in 15.1 innings. He earned his first victory of the season with four scoreless innings in 4-1 win at Wofford. Against No. 10 Georgia Tech, he struck out nine in six innings while allowing just four hits and zero earned runs. His nine strikeouts are the most by any Panther hurler since Hunter Gaddis in 2019.

> Super senior infielder DeAngelo Abboud is riding an eight-game hitting streak. In Sunday's series-clinching win over Presbyterian, Abboud went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI. His 2-run homer in the fourth inning, his first of the season, tied the game at 4-all, and then his RBI-single in the seventh broke a 6-6 tie and put the Panthers ahead for good.

> Third-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.

> Georgia State and Clemson are playing for just the second team. The first ever meeting was last season at Clemson, when the Tigers earned a 7-2 win. The Panthers' last win over an ACC team was last year's 10-1 victory at No. 10 Georgia Tech, which was also Georgia State's last win over a ranked opponent.

> Ranked as high as No. 15 by Baseball America, Clemson won its first 14 games before falling Sunday to Northeastern.

GEORGIA STATE vs. RANKED TEAMS

> Since the start of the 2021 season, Georgia State has played 20 games vs. ranked teams, including four this season.

> The Panthers earned four wins over ranked foes last season: No. 14 West Virginia twice, 7-6 (10) and 20-4 (home); No. 2 Vanderbilt, 4-2 (away) for the highest-ranked win in program history; and No. 10 Georgia Tech, 10-1 (away).

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Players Mentioned

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

#22 Hunter Gaddis: RHP; 6' 6"; Junior; R/R

#8 DeAngelo Abboud: INF; 5' 9"; Senior; R/R

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

#18 Camren Landry: RHP; 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

#23 Max Ryerson: OF; 6' 3"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

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

#22 Hunter Gaddis
: 6' 6"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#8 DeAngelo Abboud
: 5' 9"; Senior; R/R
: INF

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

#18 Camren Landry
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

#23 Max Ryerson
: 6' 3"; Junior; R/R
: OF