Another Ranked Foe with Tuesday Trip to No. 20 Georgia on SECN+

Josh Smith was 5-for-9 with game-winning grand slam Sunday vs. App State.

GEORGIA STATE (8-25, 4-5) at No. 20 GEORGIA (20-11, 5-7)
Tuesday, April 13, 5 p.m. | Foley Field, Athens, Ga.

TV: SEC+

PROBABLE PITCHERS
GSU LHP Tyler Koch (0-0, 4.26) - 6 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 H, 7 K in 2019 start vs. Georgia
UGA LHP Luke Wagner (3-2, 3.09)

LEADING OFF
> Coming off an improbable comeback victory, Georgia State faces its 15th nationally-ranked opponent and 19th Power 5 foe in 34 games at No. 20 Georgia Tuesday at 5 p.m. on SECN+.

> Georgia State and Georgia are two of the four teams in the nation to knock off Vanderbilt, currently ranked No. 2.

> Trailing App State 12-6 on Sunday, the Panthers scored nine runs in the ninth inning, capped by Josh Smith's go-ahead grand slam, and won 15-13. Ryan Glass started the scoring with an RBI-single, and then Cameron Jones' three-run homer, the first of his career, made it 12-10. After Dalton Pearson's RBI-single brought GSU within one, the Panthers were down to their last strike when Griffin Cheney was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Then Smith hit the 1-2 pitch over the center field fence.

> Smith's grand slam capped a week in which he hit .438 (7-for16) with seven RBI and six runs scored. The sophomore outfielder is the Panthers' leading hitter at .320, along with 16 walks for a .427 on-base pct.

> Junior first baseman Ryan Glass also had a big day against App State as he homered twice, including a grand slam, in Sunday's first game. He drove in seven runs in the doubleheader, including an RBI-single for the first run of the ninth-inning rally in Game 2.

> Second baseman Griffin Cheney has started Georgia State's last 103 games at 2B, SS or 3B. In those 103 games, he has failed to reach base only 11 times.

> Georgia State won its Sun Belt series against rival Georgia Southern (April 1-3). After a tough loss in Game 1, the Panthers bounced back with a 7-6, 10-inning victory on Blaine Marchman's walk-off single. In Game 3, Georgia State scored two runs in the seventh inning, including Will Mize's go-ahead, RBI-double, to clinch the series with a 3-2 victory.

> Elian Merejo had four hits and four RBI in the back-to-back victories over Georgia Southern. In Friday's walk-off win, Merejo went 3-for-5, including two doubles, and drove in two runs. In Saturday's series-clinching 3-2 victory, Merejo drove in two of the Panthers' three runs, including his team-leading fifth home run.

> Reliever Dawson Sweatt earned back-to-back wins over Georgia Southern. In Friday's walk-off win, Sweatt pitched a scoreless 10th inning to allow the Panthers to win it in the bottom half. Then in the deciding Game 3, Sweatt entered the contest with Georgia State down by one, runners at second and third and two outs and immediately induced an inning-ending groundout. He finished the game, allowing no runs and one hit in 3.1 innings, to seal the win after the Panthers took the lead in the seventh.

> Facing the nation's toughest non-conference schedule, the Panthers opened the season with 18 straight games against Power 5 opponents, including 14 nationally-ranked foes.

> Georgia State played its first 14 games against ranked foes, including four victories:
No. 14 West Virginia twice, 7-6 (10) and 20-4 (home)
No. 2 Vanderbilt, 4-2 (away)
No. 10 Georgia Tech, 10-1 (away)

> The Panthers earned a Friday night, 4-2 victory at No. 2 Vanderbilt (Feb. 26), 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.

> Freshman right-hander Mason Patel was named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week after leading GSU to a win at No. 10 Georgia Tech (March 3). He pitched six scoreless inning and allowed just four hits while striking out eight, the most strikeouts for a GSU freshman since 2013. Backing the strong pitching effort in the win at Tech were Will Mize (2-for-4, 2-run HR, 2B, 3 RBI) and Kyle Riesselmann (2-run HR, 3 RBI).

> 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.

> 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
> Georgia won the earlier meeting this season, 6-2 in Atlanta back on Feb. 24.

> Georgia has won five in a row in the series, but the Panthers won the previous two games. Georgia State won 3-1 in Athens in 2014 and 10-7 in Atlanta in 2013.

> Georgia holds a 42-8 lead in the series.

> This will be Georgia State's 13th game of the season vs. an SEC opponent, highlighted by the Panthers' 4-2 victory at No. 2 Vanderbilt on Feb. 26.

> Georgia assistant coach Brock Bennett spent three years on the GSU staff in 2016-17 and 2019.

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Players Mentioned

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

#31 Ryan Glass: INF; 6' 4"; Junior; R/R

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

#23 Tyler Koch: LHP; 6' 1"; Senior; L/L

#15 Blaine Marchman: C; 6' 0"; Freshman; R/R

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

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

#3 Kyle Riesselmann: OF; 6' 3"; Freshman; R/L

#44 Josh Smith: OF; 6' 4"; Sophomore; 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

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

#31 Ryan Glass
: 6' 4"; Junior; R/R
: INF

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

#23 Tyler Koch
: 6' 1"; Senior; L/L
: LHP

#15 Blaine Marchman
: 6' 0"; Freshman; R/R
: C

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

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

#3 Kyle Riesselmann
: 6' 3"; Freshman; R/L
: OF

#44 Josh Smith
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

#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