Panthers' Hit the Road for First Sun Belt Road Series at App State

GEORGIA STATE (12-9, 3-0 SBC) at APP STATE (11-8, 2-1)
March 24-26 | Jim & Bettie Smith Stadium, Boone, N.C.

THE SERIES
Friday, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

PROBABLE PITCHER
Game 1: RHP Joseph Brandon (2-0, 2.86) - 5th in Sun Belt in ERA
Game 2: RHP Ryan Watson (1-1, 3.96) - 14 career wins (tied for 10th in GSU history)
Game 3: RHP Rafael Acosta (1-0, 6.32) - Earned first win of season last Sunday vs. Troy

LEADING OFF
> After opening Sun Belt play with a three-game sweep of Troy last weekend, Georgia State's first conference road series is at Appalachian State, beginning Friday at 6 p.m.

> GSU scored 37 runs in three wins over Troy (10-9, 15-5, 15-6), fueled by 46 hits, including 10 homers.

> Dylan Strickland is the National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and Sun Belt Conference POTW after going 7-for-14 with five homers, 10 RBI and nine runs scored in four games last week. He hit all five homers in the Troy sweep.

> Strickland hit five homers in a span of seven plate appearances over Games 2 and 3 vs. Troy. After homering twice in his last three at-bats in Game 2, he tied the Georgia State record with three home runs in his first four at-bats in the series finale.

> The Panthers are tied for seventh in Division I with 45 home runs, led by Dylan Strickland with nine, JoJo Jackson and Luke Boynton with six each and Will Mize with five.

> Thirteen different Panthers have hit at least one homer, including three freshmen--Michael Maginnis, Colin Hynek and Jaden Anderson--whose first career hit was a home run.

> Fourth-year head coach Brad Stromdahl is three wins from 400 career victories. Stromdahl (397-184 overall) 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).

> Former Major League pitcher Chad Bell is in his first season as the Panthers' pitching coach. Bell played 10 seasons of professional baseball, reaching the Majors with the Detroit Tigers in 2017-18.

WHO'S HOT
> National Player of the Week Dylan Strickland is hitting .390 with nine homers and 22 RBI. He is fourth in the Sun Belt and No. 14 in the nation in homers. Strickland also ranks sixth in the Sun Belt in batting average, while his .881 slugging percentage is No. 2 the conference and No. 11 in the nation.

> Preseason All-American Max Ryerson leads the Panthers and is fourth in the Sun Belt in batting average at .394, along with four homers and 13 RBI. His .534 on-base percentage is No. 2 in the Sun Belt.

> Georgia State's everyday lineup has a combined total of 107 career home runs, led by Max Ryerson with 35, Luke Boynton with 18 and Will Mize with 13.

> Cameron Jones leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 7 in Division I in stolen bases (17-20).

> Max Ryerson had a string of 31 consecutive games reaching base safely snapped last game vs. Georgia. Cameron Jones recently had a streak of 32 straight games reaching base. The GSU record is 41 games by Bradley Logan in 2009-10.

> Luke Boynton hit three homers in the Clemson series and is tied for second on the team with six. The junior first baseman has 18 career homers.

> Sophomore outfielder JoJo Jackson is hitting .373 with six homers and 20 RBI. He leads the Sun Belt with 19 walks, and his .526 on-base percentage is third in the conference.

> Shortstop Matt Ruiz, in his first season at GSU after transferring from USF, is tied for the team lead with 22 RBI. He was 6-for-11 with a homer and five RBI in the Troy series.

SERIES NOTES
> Georgia State has won three of the last four vs. App State, including a series win in Atlanta last season, when the Panthers took the first two games, 12-1 and 4-2, before falling 10-7 in the finale.

> The Panthers won the last meeting in Boone in dramatic fashion. GSU trailed 12-6 in the ninth before scoring nine runs, taking the lead on Josh Smith's grand slam to win 15-13.

> Georgia State holds a 16-10 lead in the series, which began in 1979. In the Sun Belt era (since 2014), the Panthers lead 12-8, including 6-5 in Boone.

WEEKLY HAUL
Dylan Strickland's selection as National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball makes him the fourth different Panther in the last two seasons to be honored:
Max Ryerson (3x in 2022)
Cameron Jones (March 14, 2022)
Luke Boynton (March 21, 2022)
Dylan Strickland (March 20, 2023)

CAREER WATCH
> After hitting a school-record 22 home runs in 2022, Max Ryerson now has 26 homers in a Panther uniform, tied for ninth in GSU history.

> Add his one season (2019) at Charleston Southern, and Ryerson has 35 career homers, tied for 14th among active Division I players.

> Super senior right-hander Ryan Watson is the Panthers' active leader with 12 career saves (third in GSU history) and 14 career victories (T-10th). Justin Malone (14 saves, 13 victories from 2009-12) is the only pitcher in GSU history with more combined wins and saves.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#7 Joseph Brandon: RHP; 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R

#44 Josh Smith: OF; 6' 3"; Freshman; R/R

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

#33 Rafael Acosta: RHP; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

#3 Luke Boynton: INF; 6' 5"; Junior; R/R

#22 Colin Hynek: C; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

#42 JoJo Jackson: OF; 6' 2"; Sophomore; S/L

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

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

#23 Max Ryerson: OF; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

#10 Dylan Strickland: INF; 5' 11"; Junior; R/R

#21 Matt Ruiz: INF; 6' 3"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#7 Joseph Brandon
: 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R
: RHP

#44 Josh Smith
: 6' 3"; Freshman; R/R
: OF

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

#33 Rafael Acosta
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

#3 Luke Boynton
: 6' 5"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#22 Colin Hynek
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: C

#42 JoJo Jackson
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; S/L
: OF

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

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

#23 Max Ryerson
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#10 Dylan Strickland
: 5' 11"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#21 Matt Ruiz
: 6' 3"; Junior; R/R
: INF