Panthers Host Georgia Tech at Coolray Field

GEORGIA STATE (13-11) vs. GEORGIA TECH (16-8)
Tuesday, March 28 | 6 p.m. | Coolray Field

LISTEN: GSU Athletics mobile app, WGTJ-FM 97.5

PROBABLE PITCHER: Brooks Gorman (1-0, 7.62)

LEADING OFF
> Georgia State is hosting a midweek game at Coolray Field for the second straight week as the Panthers face Georgia Tech Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the home of the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers. Last week, the Panthers fell to Georgia 8-3.

> Georgia State has split four meetings with Georgia Tech over the last two seasons, with the Panthers winning at Tech 9-5 in 2022 and 10-1 in 2021.

> The Panthers are tied for sixth in Division I with 52 home runs, led by Dylan Strickland with nine, JoJo Jackson and Luke Boynton with seven each and Will Mize and Max Ryerson with six apiece.

> Dylan Strickland was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and Sun Belt Conference POTW on March 20 after going 7-for-14 with five homers, 10 RBI and nine runs scored in four games. He hit all five homers in the Troy sweep.

> Strickland hit five homers in a span of seven plate appearances over Games 2 and 3 vs. Troy. After homering twice in his last three at-bats in Game 2, he tied the Georgia State record with three home runs in his first four at-bats in the series finale.

> Thirteen 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.

> Fourth-year head coach Brad Stromdahl is two wins from 400 career victories. Stromdahl (398-186 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
> Dylan Strickland is hitting .389 with nine homers and 25 RBI. He is sixth in the Sun Belt and No. 28 in the nation in homers. Strickland also ranks seventh in the Sun Belt in batting average, while his .806 slugging percentage is sixth.

> Preseason All-American Max Ryerson hit the game-tying, 2-run homer in the top of the ninth in Sunday's loss at App State. Ryerson is second on the team and eighth in the Sun Belt in batting average at .388, along with six homers and 17 RBI. His .519 on-base percentage is No. 4 in the Sun Belt.

> Cameron Jones leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 8 in Division I in stolen bases (17-20).

> Luke Boynton hit three homers in the Clemson series and is tied for second on the team with seven. The junior first baseman has 19 career homers.

> Third baseman Will Mize drove in five runs in the first two innings of Sunday's loss to App State with a 2-run homer and a 3-run double. He is hitting .329 with six homers and a team-leading 27 RBI.

> Sophomore outfielder JoJo Jackson is hitting .344 with seven homers and 23 RBI. He is second in the Sun Belt with 21 walks and fifth in on-base percentage at .500.

> Max Ryerson had a string of 31 consecutive games reaching base safely snapped last game vs. Georgia. Cameron Jones recently had a streak of 32 straight games reaching base. The GSU record is 41 games by Bradley Logan in 2009-10.

SERIES NOTES
> Georgia State has split four meetings with Georgia Tech over the last two seasons, with the Panthers winning at Tech 9-5 in 2022 and 10-1 in 2021.

> In last year's win over the Yellow Jackets, Griffin Cheney homered twice and Dylan Matela earned his first career win.

> Brad Stromdahl is 2-2 against Tech as a head coach, and during his tenure as a 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.

> The two Atlanta schools have met 83 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 Tech leads the series 70-13.

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
3-4-21 (@GT) GSU 10, No. 10 GT 1
4-12-22 (@GT) GSU 9, GT 5

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Players Mentioned

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

#40 Dylan Matela: RHP; 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior; R/R

#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

#34 Brooks Gorman: RHP; 6' 0"; Junior; L/R

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

Players Mentioned

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

#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

#40 Dylan Matela
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior; R/R
: RHP

#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

#34 Brooks Gorman
: 6' 0"; Junior; L/R
: RHP

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