GEORGIA STATE at WESTERN CAROLINA
Wednesday, Feb. 26 | 6 p.m. | Cullowhee, N.C.

PLEASE NOTE: First pitch has been pushed back to 6 p.m.

Georgia State opens a four-game road swing with a midweek game at Western Carolina, Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.  

> Georgia State and Western Carolina are meeting for the first time since 2005. The Catamounts won the last meeting 12-7, but GSU leads the series 8-6. 

>First-year head coach Brad Stromdahl took over the Georgia State program 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 the last two years. Before going to Georgia Gwinnett in November 2011, Stromdahl spent five seasons (2007-11) as an assistant coach at Georgia State.

>Junior third baseman Griffin Cheney ranks fifth in the nation in walks (11). He leads the Sun Belt Conference in walks, hit by pitch (4), on-base percentage (.600) and stolen bases (5). 

>Senior outfielder Elian Merejo was named Sun Belt Player of the Week on Feb. 17 after going 7-for-11 with two homers, two doubles, seven RBI and seven runs scored as the Panthers opened the season with wins over 2019 NCAA Regional team Cincinnati, St. John's and Saint Peters.

>Merejo, now hitting .423, figured prominently in all three wins. After Cincinnati took a 5-1 lead in the third inning, he responded with a two-run blast to cut the deficit to 5-3. In the 10th inning, he smacked a one-out double and then scored the winning run in the walk-off. He was 2-for-3 with an RBI-single in the Saturday 7-5 win over St. John's. GSU fell behind Saint Peter's 5-1, but Merejo's three-run homer in the fifth inning jump-started the offense and pulled the Panthers within 5-4. Then he was intentionally walked in GSU's three-run sixth inning and again in the eighth inning to set up the game-winning hit by Josh Smith.

>Georgia State freshmen hurlers have earned three wins and a save. Five freshmen (Cameron Jones, Chandler Dawson, Duncan Lutz, Chad Treadway and Brandon Haston) have combined for a 1.90 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 23.2 innings.

>Freshman reliever Cameron Jones earned a win vs. 2019 NCAA regional team Cincinnati and a save vs. St. John's in his first two collegiate appearances. The lefty from Kathleen, Ga., pitched 3.2 innings scoreless out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit while striking out four. In the top of the 10th inning against Cincinnati, he pitched a rare Immaculate Inning, striking out the side on nine pitches, to set up the Panthers' walk-off in the bottom half.

>Another freshman, shortstop Will Mize, is the Panthers' leading hitter at .429 with three doubles and six RBI.