Panthers Open Sun Belt Tourney vs. ULM Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET

#7 GEORGIA STATE (30-26, 15-15) IN SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
vs. #10 ULM (19-34-1, 9-20-1) | Tuesday, May 24 | 1 p.m. ET
Riverwalk Stadium | Montgomery, Ala.

* PLEASE NOTE: Due to forecasted rain, first pitch for Tuesday's game has been moved up to 1 p.m. ET.

TV: ESPN+
AUDIO: GeorgiaStateSports.com/GSU mobile app

Georgia State, the No. 7 seed, opens the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship by facing No. 10 seed ULM Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET in the single-elimination round. The winner advances to the double-elimination bracket beginning Wednesday.

LEADING OFF
> Georgia State has reached the 30-win mark for the first time since 2015 (ninth time overall). The Panthers' 15 Sun Belt wins equal the program record, set in 2015.

> Georgia State and ULM are meeting in the opening game of the Sun Belt Championship for the second straight year. Last season, GSU knocked off the Warhawks 9-6.

> Georgia State has earned four Sun Belt sweeps this season, blanking Little Rock and South Alabama at home and Coastal Carolina and Arkansas State on the road.

> Georgia State is second in the Sun Belt with 74 home runs, equalling the third-highest season total in program history and the most with the current bats. The Panthers also hit 74 in 2009, and the only more prolific seasons were 82 in 2010 and 77 in 2000.

> The Panthers have the top two home run hitters in the league in leader No. 1 Max Ryerson with a school-record 22 and Griffin Cheney, tied for second with 16. Luke Boynton adds 11 homers (tied for 10th), giving GSU three players in double figures for the first time since 2014.

> The GSU bullpen has a 21-12 record with 17 saves. That's the program's second-best season total for saves, two behind the school record of 19, set in 2009.

> The Panther pitching staff has a school-record 495 strikeouts (previous record was 474 in 2009). Georgia State also broke the single-game record with 19 strikeouts vs. Mercer.

> GSU stole 17-of-19 bases in the sweep of Arkansas State. The Panthers have 74 steals on the season, their highest total since swiping 93 in 2011.

MAX'S MASTERPIECE

> Max Ryerson has set the Georgia State-season record with 22 home runs, which leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 7 in D1. He broke Chad Smith's mark of 21, which had stood since 2000, on the final day of the regular season vs. No. 10 Texas State.

> Three-time National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball, including two of last three weeks:
May 16: 3 HR, 7 RBI, including 2 HR, 6 RBI in sweep of Arkansas State
May 9: 4 HR, 12 RBI, 8 Runs in 5 games, including series win vs. App State
April 4: Hit .563 (9-for-16) with 4 HR, 10 RBI in four games, including sweep of South Alabama. Also named Sun Belt Player of the Week

> Third in the Sun Belt with 61 RBI and Top 10 in OPS, slugging, hits, runs and doubles.

> Leads the Sun Belt with 156 total bases, also the GSU season record.

> Six two-homer games: at Kennesaw State, Purdue Fort Wayne, South Alabama Friday, South Alabama Sunday, Alabama State and Appalachian State.

MORE ON THE PANTHERS:

> Georgia State features three Sun Belt Conference Players of the Week and four National Players of the Week this season: 1B-LHP Cameron Jones (March 14, Sun Belt & National), Luke Boynton (March 21, Sun Belt) and Max Ryerson (April 4, Sun Belt & National; May 9, National; May 16, National).

> One of 10 semifinalists for the John Olerud Award as the nation's top two-way player, Cameron Jones leads the Panthers in batting average (.369) and ERA (2.57 in 35 innings). He is fifth in the Sun Belt in batting average and seventh in saves.

> Super senior Griffin Cheney is tied for second in the Sun Belt with 16 home runs, which equals the fourth-best season total in program history. Five of his homers have come vs. the ACC: 3 vs. Clemson, 2 vs. Georgia Tech.

> Cheney is one of only two Sun Belt players (along with Dalton Shuffield) to rank in the top 10 in the conference in batting average (8th/.358), on-base pct. (9th/.450), slugging (6th/.653), homers and runs scored (10th/47).

> Cheney has a career average of .303 in 192 games. He has hit 22 career homers, 21 of them in the last two seasons.

> Since moving into the weekend rotation, super senior right-hander Trey Horton is 2-1 with 3.06 ERA and .206 average against in seven starts. He threw Georgia State's first-complete game victory since 2018 at Arkansas State, allowing two runs on three hits with six strikeouts.

> Junior Ryan Watson saved two wins in each of Georgia State's Sun Belt sweeps vs. Little Rock, South Alabama and Coastal Carolina. He is third in the Sun Belt lead with nine saves on the season, just one behind the GSU season record.

> Watson is the Panthers' active leader with 12 career saves (third in GSU history) and 13 career victories (T-11th). Justin Malone (14 saves, 13 victories from 2009-12) is the only pitcher in GSU history with more combined wins and saves.

> 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.

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Players Mentioned

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

#26 Trey Horton: RHP; 6' 2"; Sophomore; R/R

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

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

#10 Luke Boynton: 1B; 6' 6"; Sophomore; R/R

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

Players Mentioned

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

#26 Trey Horton
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

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

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

#10 Luke Boynton
: 6' 6"; Sophomore; R/R
: 1B

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