Panthers Lead Sun Belt in Homers as South Alabama Visits for Weekend Series

GEORGIA STATE (15-10, 4-2) vs. SOUTH ALABAMA (16-7, 4-2)
April 1-3, GSU Baseball Complex

THE SERIES
Friday, 6 p.m.
Saturday, 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

PROBABLE PITCHERS
Friday: LHP Brandon Kaminer (1-1, 3.62)
Saturday: RHP Chandler Dawson (1-2, 3.43)
Sunday: RHP Camren Landry (2-2, 2.84)

LEADING OFF

> Georgia State returns home to host a Sun Belt Conference weekend series with South Alabama at the GSU Baseball Complex. The Saturday and Sunday games air on ESPN+.

> Georgia State leads the Sun Belt with 35 home runs, including the top two individuals in Griffin Cheney and Max Ryerson with eight each. The Panthers are second in the league in batting average (.297).

> Georgia State features two Sun Belt Conference Players of the Week this month in infielder Luke Boynton (March 21) and 1B-LHP Cameron Jones (March 14).

> Super senior Griffin Cheney leads the Sun Belt in batting average (.423), home runs (8) and slugging (.817) while ranking second (.517) in on-base pct.

> The Panthers hit 10 home runs in the series sweep of Little Rock, including five on Saturday (the most for GSU since 2016 vs. UT Arlington) and four more on Sunday. Luke Boynton homered in all three games, Max Ryerson hit two, and GSU also got long balls from Blaine Marchman, DeAngelo Abboud, Dalton Pearson, Chase Wullenweber and Will Mize.

> Georgia State earned a 6-1 win at No. 15 Clemson on March 15 for the Panthers' fifth victory over a Top 15-ranked opponent in the last two seasons.

> In the win at Clemson, Griffin Cheney tied the school record with three home runs, and GSU pitchers Camren Landry, Chad Treadway and Joseph Brandon combined for 14 strikeouts.

> The GSU pitching staff struck out 17 against No. 7 Georgia, one shy of the school record.

"SUPER" SUPER SENIOR GRIFFIN CHENEY

> Super senior shortstop Griffin Cheney tied the Georgia State and Sun Belt Conference records with three home runs in the Panthers' 6-1 win at No. 15 Clemson on March 15.

> Cheney hit a two-run homer to left field in the first inning, a solo shot to left in the third and then a mammoth solo blast in the eighth that went over the left field grandstand. He is the seventh Panther to hit three homers in a game and first since Nic Wilson in 2014 vs. South Alabama.

JONES NAMED SUN BELT & NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

> Cameron Jones, one of the nation's top two-way players as the Panthers' starting first baseman and closer, was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball as well as Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on March 14.

> The sophomore hit .368 (7-for-19) for the week with two homers, two doubles, six RBI and six runs scored. On the mound, the left-hander earned two two-inning saves against Wofford and Presbyterian, pitching four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and zero walks while allowing just three hits. In both saves, he entered a one-run game in the eighth inning.

> For the season, Jones is hitting .371 with three homers and 16 RBI. He is third in the Sun Belt with five saves. He has a 2.53 ERA with 16 strikeouts and two walks.

> On March 8, Jones was named the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Week, and in 2021, he was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as the utility player.

GEORGIA STATE vs. RANKED TEAMS

> Since the start of the 2021 season, Georgia State has knocked off five ranked teams, all ranked No. 15 or higher. Three of the five wins were on the road.

> GSU earned a 6-1 victory at No. 15 Clemson (March 15) in which Griffin Cheney hit a school-record three home runs and the GSU pitching staff struck out 14.

> The Panthers have played 22 games vs. ranked teams in the last two seasons, including six in 2022.

> The Panthers earned four wins over ranked foes last season: No. 14 West Virginia twice, 7-6 (10) and 20-4 (home); No. 2 Vanderbilt, 4-2 (away) for the highest-ranked win in program history; and No. 10 Georgia Tech, 10-1 (away).

MORE ON THE PANTHERS

> Luke Boynton was named Sun Belt Player of the Week on March 21 after homering in all three wins vs. Little Rock, going 5-for-12 with three homers and seven RBI for the week. All three homers provided crucial runs. On Friday in a 2-2 game in the bottom of the 6th, his 3-run homer gave GSU the lead for good. On Saturday, GSU trailed 3-2 in the bottom of the 4th when he hit a game-tying solo homer. On Sunday, with the Panthers trailing 8-7 in the 6th, his 2-run homer gave GSU the lead for good.

> Max Ryerson is tied with teammate Griffin Cheney for the Sun Belt Conference lead with eight home runs, along with a team-leading 20 RBI. He leads the league with 11 doubles and 71 total bases. Ryerson is a junior college transfer from Gulf Coast State, where he was the 2021 Panhandle Conference Player of the Year.

> Sophomore reliever Chad Treadway is 4-0 with one save and a 1.59 ERA. He is second in the Sun Belt in victories. In the last two weeks, Treadway earned the win at No. 15 Clemson with 2.2 scoreless innings, saved the Saturday game vs. Little Rock with two scoreless innings and then earned the Sunday victory at ULM with 2.1 scoreless innings.

> In two starts against nationally-ranked ACC teams Georgia Tech and Clemson, Camren Landry combined to pitch 10.1 innings with 17 strikeouts and just one earned run allowed. In the win at No. 15 Clemson, he allowed one run in 4.1 innings with eight strikeouts. Against No. 10 Georgia Tech, he struck out nine in six innings while allowing just four hits and zero earned runs. His nine strikeouts are the most by any Panther hurler since Hunter Gaddis in 2019.

> Junior right-hander Ryan Watson saved two of the three wins over Little Rock. Watson is the Panthers' active leader with 13 career victories, along with six saves.

SERIES VS. SOUTH ALABAMA

> In the current Sun Belt era (since 2014), South Alabama leads the series 17-4, but Georgia State owns a 4-4 record against the Jaguars at home.

> Last season in Mobile, South Alabama won three low-scoring games, 4-2, 5-1 an 4-2.

> The Panthers' last win was a 7-2 decision in 2018, which was the last time South Alabama played in Atlanta.

> In all games, South Alabama leads 27-5.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Joseph Brandon: RHP; 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R

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

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

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

#8 DeAngelo Abboud: INF; 5' 9"; Senior; R/R

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

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

#18 Camren Landry: RHP; 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

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

#14 Will Mize: INF; 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

#9 Dalton Pearson: OF; 5' 11"; Sophomore; R/R

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

Players Mentioned

#7 Joseph Brandon
: 6' 1"; Freshman; R/R
: RHP

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

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

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

#8 DeAngelo Abboud
: 5' 9"; Senior; R/R
: INF

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

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

#18 Camren Landry
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

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

#14 Will Mize
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: INF

#9 Dalton Pearson
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF

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