Panthers Make Midweek Trip to Mercer

GEORGIA STATE (9-7) at MERCER (12-5)
Tuesday, March 14 | 6 p.m. | OrthoGeorgia Park

WATCH: ESPN+

LEADING OFF
> Georgia State's final non-conference test before opening Sun Belt Conference play is a Tuesday trip to Mercer for a 6 p.m. game on ESPN+. The Panthers host Troy this weekend in their first conference series.

> The Panthers are 12th in Division I with 34 home runs, led by Luke Boynton and JoJo Jackson with five each and Max Ryerson, Will Mize and Dylan Strickland with four apiece.

> Twelve different Panthers have hit at least one homer, including three freshmen--Michael Maginnis, Colin Hynek and Jaden Anderson--whose first career hit was a home run.

> The GSU offense ranks third in the Sun Belt in homers, fourth in on-base percentage, and fifth in batting average, scoring and stolen bases. The pitching staff first in strikeout-to-walk ratio, second in WHIP and fifth in ERA.

> Junior outfielder Cameron Jones has reached bases safely in 32 consecutive games and senior outfielder Max Ryerson in 28 straight games. Jones' streak is tied for fifth in school history; the GSU record is 41 games by Bradley Logan in 2009-10.

> Fourth-year head coach Brad Stromdahl is six wins from 400 career victories. Stromdahl (394-182 overall) 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).

> Former Major League pitcher Chad Bell is in his first season as the Panthers' pitching coach. Bell played 10 seasons of professional baseball, reaching the Majors with the Detroit Tigers in 2017-18.

WHO'S HOT
> Preseason All-American Max Ryerson leads the Panthers and ranks sixth in Sun Belt in batting average at .423, along with four homers and 12 RBI. His .551 on-base percentage is third in the Sun Belt.

> Junior outfielder Cameron Jones leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 5 in Division I in stolen bases (14-16).

> Luke Boynton hit three homers in the Clemson series last weekend and is now tied for the team lead with five. The junior first baseman has 17 career homers.

> Dylan Strickland is the Panthers second-leading hitter at .375. Over the last seven games, the sophomore is 13-for-28 with three homers and 10 RBI. He began this streak by hitting the go-ahead, 3-run homer in the eighth inning in the Sunday win vs. Brown and also homered twice in the Presbyterian series.

> Will Mize is hitting .320 with four homers and a team-leading 16 RBI.

> Sophomore outfielder JoJo Jackson is fifth in the Sun Belt with five homers, along with 15 RBI and 12 walks (tied for the team lead). He is hitting .342 with a .500 on-base percentage.

CAREER WATCH
> After hitting a school-record 22 home runs in 2022, Max Ryerson now has 26 homers in a Panther uniform, tied for ninth in GSU history.

> Add his one season (2019) at Charleston Southern, and Ryerson has 35 career homers, is tied for 11th among active Division I players.

> Super senior right-hander Ryan Watson is the Panthers' active leader with 12 career saves (third in GSU history) and 13 career victories (T-11th). Justin Malone (14 saves, 13 victories from 2009-12) is the only pitcher in GSU history with more combined wins and saves.

SERIES NOTES
> Mercer is Georgia State's most frequent opponent as the two schools have played 126 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 75-51, but since 1996, Georgia State holds a 36-34 edge.

> Even though the Bears have won seven in a row, the series is even at 17-17 since 2005.

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Players Mentioned

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

#3 Luke Boynton: INF; 6' 5"; Junior; R/R

#22 Colin Hynek: C; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

#42 JoJo Jackson: OF; 6' 2"; Sophomore; S/L

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

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

#23 Max Ryerson: OF; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

#10 Dylan Strickland: INF; 5' 11"; Junior; R/R

#24 Michael Maginnis: INF; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R

#38 Jaden Anderson: OF-LHP; 5' 9"; Freshman; R/L

Players Mentioned

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

#3 Luke Boynton
: 6' 5"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#22 Colin Hynek
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: C

#42 JoJo Jackson
: 6' 2"; Sophomore; S/L
: OF

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

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

#23 Max Ryerson
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#10 Dylan Strickland
: 5' 11"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#24 Michael Maginnis
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman; R/R
: INF

#38 Jaden Anderson
: 5' 9"; Freshman; R/L
: OF-LHP