Crosstown Showdown with No. 10 Georgia Tech, Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Panthers Face 10th Straight Ranked Foe

GEORGIA STATE (3-6) at No. 10 GEORGIA TECH (6-1)
Wednesday, March 3 | 4 p.m. | Mac Nease Ballpark

Please note the rescheduled date.

GEORGIA TECH ATTENDANCE & SAFETY POLICIES

TV: ACC Network Extra
LIVE AUDIO & STATS: GeorgiaStateSports.com

PROBABLE PITCHERS
GSU Fr. RHP Mason Patel (0-2, 9.00) vs. GT RHP Cort Roedig (0-0, 4.91)

LEADING OFF
> Georgia State's 10th-straight game against a ranked opponent is a crosstown matchup at No. 10 Georgia Tech (6-1), Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Mac Nease Ballpark on ACC Network Extra.

> The Panthers are coming off a Friday night, 4-2 victory at No. 2 Vanderbilt, the highest-ranked team GSU has ever beaten. Previously, the highest ranked team GSU had ever defeated was No. 3 Georgia Tech in 2010, 10-1.

> In the win over Vandy, starting pitcher Ryan Watson threw five strong innings (1 run, 4 hits, 7 strikeouts) and Elian Merejo provided key insurance runs with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. Vandy put the tying runs on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Chad Treadway recorded the final two outs for the save.

> Georgia State LEADS THE NATION with 13 double plays turned.

> In its second season under head coach Brad Stromdahl, Georgia State has already recorded three wins over ranked teams. Before the Vandy win, the Panthers earned their first wins over a ranked team since 2018 (at No. 16 Coastal Carolina) with a pair of victories over No. 14 West Virginia, marking the program's first back-to-backs wins against a ranked opponent. The school record for wins over ranked teams is four by the 2000 team.

> Before this season, Georgia State had never played more than three straight games against ranked opponents, but the Panthers are in a stretch of 14 straight games against teams that are currently ranked, with a three-game series at Tennessee and then a midweek test at Florida following Georgia Tech.

> Georgia State opened the season with a four-game series split against No. 14 West Virginia. After falling 5-3 in 10 innings on Opening Day, Georgia State swept the Saturday doubleheader with a 7-6 walk-off win on Elian Merejo's two-out single in the 10th, and then a 20-4 victory in the nightcap. GSU then held WVU to just three hits in the series finale, but the Mountaineers managed a 3-2 victory.

> The Panthers' 20-4 win in Game 3 of the WVU series represents the most runs GSU has ever scored against a ranked foe. Georgia State jumped on the Mountaineers with an 11-run first inning and never looked back.

> Shortstop Will Mize is the Panthers' leading hitter at .400. The second-year freshman went 8-for-15 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI in the WVU series, including a double and a two-run homer in the 11-run first inning.

> Facing likely the toughest non-conference schedule in the nation, Georgia State opened the season with five straight home games, all against ranked, Power 5 opponents, and now faces 13 straight road games, all against SEC and ACC foes.

> Second-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.

SERIES vs. GEORGIA TECH:
> The two Atlanta schools have met 79 times since 1971, including every year since Georgia State reinstated its program in 1992 through 2019. They did not meet in the abbreviated 2020 season.

> Georgia State's last win over the Yellow Jackets was a 5-2 victory at Georgia Tech in 2018. Tech won both meetings in 2019, 7-3 and 10-0, and leads the series 68-11.

> GSU's 10-1 victory in 2009 over a Tech team ranked No. 3 was the highest-ranked team the Panthers had ever beaten until last Friday's 4-2 victory at No. 2 Vanderbilt.

> Brad Stromdahl is facing Georgia Tech as a head coach for the first time, but during his tenure as GSU assistant coach, he helped the Panthers to three wins over the Jackets (2007, 2009 and 2011), all on the road and all over ranked Tech teams.

GSU'S RECENT WINS OVER GEORGIA TECH
3-21-07 (@GT) GSU 9, No.15 GT 5
3-24-09 (@GT) GSU 10, No. 3 GT 1
3-2-11 (@GT) GSU 6, No. 23 GT 3
3-7-12 (@GSU) GSU 5, No. 10 GT 4
4-11-18 (@GT) GSU 5, GT 2

HEROICS FOR ELIAN MEREJO
> Georgia State was thrilled to have Elian Merejo back for an extra season, and he has already delivered two huge moments for the Panthers this season.

> He began his 2021 season with a walk-off, delivering a two-out, RBI-single in the 10th inning to lift the Panthers to a 7-6 win over No. 14 West Virginia.

> With GSU holding a 2-1 lead at No. 2 Vanderbilt, Merejo smashed a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to extend the lead to 4-1. Those proved to be crucial insurance runs as Vandy scored one in the bottom and put the tying runs on base, but Georgia State held for the highest ranked win in program history.

> Merejo is a Preseason Third-Team All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and a first-team Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection.

> In 2020, Merejo led the team with a .407 batting average, five homers and six doubles, along with 13 RBI. He ranked in the Top 5 in the Sun Belt in average (3rd), homers (4th), slugging (.763/2nd), on-base percentage (.527/T-2nd) and walks (15/T-2nd) and was named the Sun Belt's "Breakout Player" by D1 Baseball.

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Players Mentioned

#18 Elian Merejo: C; 6' 0"; Senior; R/R

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

#20 Chad Treadway: RHP; 6' 1"; Freshman; L/R

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

#2 Mason Patel: RHP; 6' 2"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#18 Elian Merejo
: 6' 0"; Senior; R/R
: C

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

#20 Chad Treadway
: 6' 1"; Freshman; L/R
: RHP

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

#2 Mason Patel
: 6' 2"; Freshman; R/R
: RHP