Final Non-Conference Game as Panthers Host Mercer Tuesday

GEORGIA STATE (12-34) vs. MERCER (30-17)
Tuesday, May 11 | 6 p.m. | GSU Baseball Complex

PROBABLE PITCHERS
GSU Jr. RHP Trey Horton (0-2, 4.70) vs. MU RHP Jackson Kelley (2-3, 3.81)

LEADING OFF
> Georgia State's final non-conference game of the season is Tuesday as the Panthers host Mercer in a 6 p.m. game at the GSU Baseball Complex.

> Second baseman Griffin Cheney has started Georgia State's last 116 games at 2B, SS or 3B. In those 116 games, he has failed to reach base only 13 times. Over the last 15 games, Cheney is hitting .338.

> Sophomore outfielder Josh Smith is the team's leading hitter at .306, but he has been ever better over the last 15 games at .322 with four homers and 16 RBI.

> Freshman right fielder Dalton Pearson had his best game last Sunday vs. Coastal Carolina with five RBI on a three-run homer, his first, and a two-run double. He also threw out a runner at the plate for the third time this season.

> Senior left-hander Tyler Koch pitched in his 76th game vs. Coastal Carolina and is now tied for third in GSU history in career appearances. The only GSU pitchers to appear more are Jerry Stuckey (92, 2012-15) and Bobby Bennett (81, 2005-08).

> Freshman LHP/1B Cameron Jones is making an impact on the mound and at the plate. The Panthers' Friday starter struck out a career-high seven last week against Coastal Carolina while allowing just one run on two hits in six innings in the 2-1 victory. That followed his complete game the previous Friday at South Alabama. At the plate, he delivered the game-tying, RBI-double in the 14th inning vs. Wofford and then came around to score the winning run.

> Six current Panthers earned their degrees this spring: Pablo Barquero, Griffin Cheney, Dalton Davies, Ryan Glass, Will Goldberg and Elian Merejo. They join Tyler Koch, who graduated in 2020, as Georgia State graduates.

> Shorstop Will Mize was rated among the Top 150 College Prospects for the 2022 MLB Draft in rankings announced last week by Perfect Game.

> The Panthers' 4-3, 14-inning win over Wofford was the second-longest game in GSU history; the only longer game was a 15-inning loss at William & Mary in 2009. Trailing 2-0, the Panthers tied the game on Elian Merejo's two-run double in the bottom of the ninth. After Wofford took a 3-2 lead in the 14th, Griffin Cheney led off the home half with a single and scored on Cameron Jones' one-out double. With two outs, pitcher Trey Horton made his first career at-bat and dropped a single into shallow left field to score Jones with the winning run for GSU's fourth walk-off of the season.

> Fifth-year senior Elian Merejo has provided some huge hits this season:
- Walk-off single with two outs in 10th inning for 7-6 win over No. 14 West Virginia
- Two-run homer in top of 9th inning for crucial insurance runs in 4-2 win at No. 2 Vanderbilt
- Go-ahead, three-run homer in 7th inning for 7-5 win over Troy
- Game-tying two-run double in bottom of 9th vs. Wofford (GSU won 4-3 in 14)

> Georgia State's "leading" hitters are two pitchers who are batting 1.000. Reliever Pablo Barquero singled at Mercer in his only career at-bat. Then Saturday starter Trey Horton made his first career at-bat in the bottom of the 14th inning vs. Wofford and singled home Jones for the winning run and a 4-3 walk-off victory.

> Georgia State won its Sun Belt Conference series against Troy with its second straight improbable Sunday comeback. Trailing 15-10, the Panthers tied the game with five runs in the eighth inning, capped by Kalen Puckett's pinch hit, two-run double, and then Kyle Riesselmann hit a two-run, walk-off homer in the 10th inning for the 17-15, series-clinching victory. Chandler Dawson finished the game with two scoreless innings to earn the win.

> The previous Sunday at Appalachian State, GSU trailed 12-6 before scoring 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.

> Sundays are for Slams: Josh Smith hit grand slams on consecutive Sundays. First he hit the go-ahead grand slam in the Panthers' nine-run, ninth-inning rally at Appalachian State, and then he hit another slam in the 17-15 win over Troy. His slam at App State earned him Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors (April 17). He is the first Panther with two grand slams in a season since Ryan Blanton in 2017.

> In Georgia State's last six victories, the Panthers have trailed or been tied after six innings:
-Georgia Southern, 3-2: Trailing 2-1, scored 2 in 7th, including go-ahead, RBI-double by Will Mize
-App State, 15-13: Trailed 12-6 in 9th, scored 9 runs, capped by Josh Smith grand slam
-Troy, 7-5: Trailing 5-3, scored 4 in 7th, including go-ahead 3-run HR by Elian Merejo.
-Troy, 17-15: Trailing 15-10, scored 5 in 8th, including Kalen Puckett 2-run double to tie. Walk-off 2-run homer by Kyle Riesselmann in 10th.
-Wofford, 4-3: Trailing 2-0, scored 2 in 9th on Elian Merejo's 2-run double. Trailing 3-2 in 14th, tied the game on Cameron Jones' RBI-double, then walked-off on RBI-single by Trey Horton.
-Coastal Carolina, 2-1: Tied at 1-1, Kyle Riesselmann scored the scored the go-ahead run in the 7th on a wild pitch.

> 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.

> 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.

> 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.

> 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. MERCER
> Georgia State and Mercer are playing their fourth game this season, the most between the two schools since playing six times in 1998 when both were in the TransAmerica Athletic Conference.

> Mercer won 5-3 in Atlanta on March 21 and the captured back-to-back home games, 5-1 on April 6 and 17-4 on April 21.

> Although the Bears have won four in a row, the series is an even 14-14 since 2006.

> Mercer is Georgia State's most frequent opponent as the two schools have played 123 times since 1967. Every year that GSU has fielded a baseball team, it has played Mercer at least once.

> Mercer leads the all-time series 72-51, but since 1995, Georgia State holds a 37-33 edge.

PANTHER PROS: With Minor League Baseball getting underway this week, five former Panthers are active player, and two others are coaching in the minor league ranks:

RHP Nathan Bates, GSU 2013-15 - Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas (LAA)
RHP Bryce Conley, GSU 2016-17 - Double-A Midland RockHounds (OAK)
RHP Hunter Gaddis, GSU 2017-19 - High-A Lake County Captains (CLE)
C Joey Roach, GSU 2013-16 - Triple-A Durham Bulls (TB)
RHP Cole Uvila, GSU 2015-16 - Double-A Frisco RoughRiders (TEX)
Carlos Cardoza, GSU 2006-07 - Manager, Low-A Down East Wood Ducks (TEX)
Nic Wilson, GSU 2013-14 - Hitting Coach, Low-A Fresno Grizzlies (COL)

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Players Mentioned

#22 Hunter Gaddis: RHP; 6' 6"; Junior; R/R

#22 Pablo Barquero: LHP; 6' 0"; Junior; L/L

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

#28 Dalton Davies: C-OF; 6' 0"; Senior; R/R

#34 Chandler Dawson: RHP; 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R

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

#19 Will Goldberg: C; 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R

#26 Trey Horton: RHP; 6' 2"; Junior; L/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

Players Mentioned

#22 Hunter Gaddis
: 6' 6"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#22 Pablo Barquero
: 6' 0"; Junior; L/L
: LHP

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

#28 Dalton Davies
: 6' 0"; Senior; R/R
: C-OF

#34 Chandler Dawson
: 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R
: RHP

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

#19 Will Goldberg
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R
: C

#26 Trey Horton
: 6' 2"; Junior; L/R
: RHP

#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