GEORGIA STATE (19-17, 9-6) at TROY (26-13, 9-6)
April 19-21 | Riddle-Pace Field, Troy, Ala.

THE SERIES (All games on ESPN+)
Friday, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, 2 p.m. ET

LEADING OFF
> Coming off a Sun Belt Conference series win over Southern Miss and a midweek walk-off, Georgia State travels to Troy for a weekend series, beginning Friday at 7 p.m. ET. 

> Brennan Hudson is the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. The sophomore catcher-first baseman hit .571 with an eye-popping 1.914 OPS, including a walk-off homer. He was 8-for-14 on the week with three homers, six RBI and nine runs scored. He also drew five walks for a .700 on-base percentage in the four games.

> Georgia State is coming off a midweek, 5-4 walk-off win over Kennesaw State on a 2-run homer by Dylan Strickland. GSU trailed 2-0 in the seventh when Jae Williams tied the game with a pinch-hit home run. Michael Maginnis homered in the eighth, but the Panthers trailed 4-3 with one out in the bottom of the ninth when Strickland delivered the winning blow.

> That was Strickland's second late-game winning home run of the season. He hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to give GSU an 8-7, series-clinching win over James Madison. 

> The Panthers took the Southern Miss last weekend series with back-to-back run-rule victories, both in walk-off fashion. GSU won 18-8 on Friday as Matt Ruiz ended the game with a 2-run single in the seventh, and then Brennan Hudson's 3-run homer in the seventh ended Saturday's 19-8 victory.  

> Georgia State scored 46 runs in the series, including 12 home runs, both program records for a Sun Belt Conference series. Brennan Hudson (8-11, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2.345 OPS) and outfielder Michael Maginnis (7-14, 3 HR, 8 RBI) combined for six home runs and 14 RBI in the three games. Maximus Martin (7-for-13, six runs scored) and Ryan Dyal (5-for-11, two homers, seven RBI) also had big series.

> Third baseman Will Mize is the Panthers' top hitter on the season at .344 on 52 hits, which ranks second in the Sun Belt. He also leads the team with 37 RBI while ranking second with eight homers.

> Outfielder Michael Maginnis is 8-for-14 with four homers, nine RBI, eight runs scored and three stolen bases in the last four games. 

> Luke Boynton has moved up to No. 6 in GSU history with 35 career homers, while Will Mize is tied for 15th with 25. 

> Georgia State is No. 32 in the nation with 60 home runs. In 2023, the Panthers ranked No. 14 in Division I with a school-record 110 homers.

> Georgia State has won four of its five Sun Belt series. The Panthers won their first three Sun Belt series for the first time since joining the league in 2014, opening with a sweep at South Alabama for the first time ever, followed by series wins against ULM and James Madison before stumbling at Georgia Southern. Then GSU responded with another series win over Southern Miss.

> Under fifth-year head coach Brad Stromdahl, Georgia State recorded back-to-back 30-win seasons in 2022 and 2023, a first for the program since four in a row from 2008-2011, when Stromdahl was a GSU assistant coach. The Panthers were 30-29 in 2023, including a 16-14 mark in the Sun Belt.

> 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). In his 12th season as a head coach, Stromdahl is 434-221.

THE ELDER STATESMAN 
> The veteran of the GSU squad as a fifth-year senior, third baseman Will Mize is the 13th player in GSU history to record at least 200 career hits, 100 RBI and 100 runs scored. 

> His next game will No. 200 of his career.

> Mize has a .310 career batting average is climbing Georgia State's career lists in numerous offensive categories:
Hits: 223 (8th)
HR: 25 (T-15th)
2B: 45 (T-6th)
RBI: 141 (8th)
Total Bases: 345 (6th)
At-Bats: 720 (8th)

SERIES NOTES
> Georgia State swept last year's series with Troy, 10-9, 15-5 and 12-6, in Atlanta behind five homers by Dylan Strickland. 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 Trojans swept in 2022 in Troy, 10-1, 4-3 and 5-4.

> Georgia State has won five of the last eight meetings, but Troy leads 16-9 since 2013-14, when the teams began playing as Sun Belt foes. The Trojans overall lead is 40-18.