Key Sun Belt Series at South Alabama Up Next

GEORGIA STATE (19-19, 7-8) at SOUTH ALABAMA (19-18, 7-8)
April 21-23 | Mobile, Ala.

Winners of five of the last seven games, Georgia State heads to South Alabama for a key Sun Belt Conference series, beginning Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Stanky Field. Both teams stand at 7-8 in the Sun Belt.

THE SERIES (All games on ESPN+)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, 3 p.m. ET
Sunday, 2 p.m. ET

LEADING OFF
> Georgia State is No. 1 in the Sun Belt and No. 5 in Division I with 76 home runs, led by Luke Boynton with 11, Dylan Strickland and Max Ryerson with 10 each, and JoJo Jackson with nine.

> The Panthers' total of 76 home runs is the third-highest season total in program history. The GSU season record is 82, set in 2010, and the second-best total is 77 in 2000. Georgia State hit 75 last year for a total of 151 since the start of the 2022 season.

> Georgia State also ranks in the top three in the Sun Belt in batting average, scoring, on-base percentage, slugging and stolen bases.

> Seventeen 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. Seven different players have hit six or more homers.

> Max Ryerson leads the Sun Belt in batting average at .412 and on-base percentage at .527 (No. 17 in D1). He has 10 homers and 27 RBI, and his OPS is 1.229, also first in the conference. He is tied for 13th among active D1 players with 41 career home runs.

> Ryan Watson earned his 16th career victory last Friday vs. Arkansas State to move into a tie for fourth place in GSU history. The super senior right-hander also became Georgia State's career leader in combined wins (16) and saves (12) with 28.

> Fourth-year head coach Brad Stromdahl earned his 400th career victory vs. James Madison on April 8. Stromdahl (404-194 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 pro ball, reaching the Majors with the Detroit Tigers in 2017-18.

> Panther alum Hunter Gaddis (GSU 2017-19) is now pitching for the Cleveland Guardians. A fifth-round draft pick out of GSU in 2019, he made his MLB debut in 2022, becoming Georgia State's second Major Leaguer.

WHO'S HOT
> Cameron Jones leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 5 in Division I in stolen bases with 27. That is the second-highest season figure in program history, seven behind the school record (34 by Jimmy Fowlkes, 1980).

> Jones stole four bases in Game 1 at James Madison, coming within one of the school record of five, set by Henry Reese vs. Samford in 1985.

> Luke Boynton's 11th homer was a grand slam in last Friday's win over Arkansas State as he took over the team lead. He hit three homers in the Clemson series and two in the Coastal Carolina series. The junior first baseman has 23 career homers.

> 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.

> On the season, Strickland is hitting .361 with 10 homers and 27 RBI. He is eighth in the Sun Belt in average and homers.

> Starting pitcher Rafael Acosta has a 2.00 ERA for his last three starts. The senior right-hander has allowed just four runs in 18.0 innings with 14 strikeouts vs. Coastal Carolina, James Madison and Arkansas State. He earned the win at JMU with a career-long outing of 7.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts in the 3-1 victory.

> Freshman reliever Brady Jones pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning in 3-1 win at James Madison to earn his first career save, and then added his second save in Game 3 vs. Arkansas State.

> Third baseman Will Mize leads the team with 35 RBI, followed by shortstop Matt Ruiz, the transfer from USF, with 34. Both also have six homers.

> Sophomore outfielder JoJo Jackson is hitting .324 with nine homers and 28 RBI. He is fifth in the Sun Belt with 28 walks.

SERIES NOTES
> Georgia State swept last year's series against South Alabama in Atlanta, 10-8, 4-3 and 9-5. Max Ryerson had four homers and nine RBI in the series and was named National and Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. The GSU bullpen collected two wins and three saves, including two by Ryan Watson, with a 2.04 ERA, a .167 batting average against and 19 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.

> When the teams last met in Mobile in 2021, South Alabama won three low-scoring games, 4-2, 5-1 and 4-2.

> In the current Sun Belt era (since 2014), South Alabama leads the series 17-7, with all seven GSU wins coming in Atlanta. In all games, South Alabama leads 27-8.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#33 Rafael Acosta: RHP; 6' 2"; Senior; 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

#11 Brady Jones: INF/RHP; 6' 0"; Freshman; R/R

#21 Matt Ruiz: INF; 6' 3"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

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

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

#33 Rafael Acosta
: 6' 2"; Senior; 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

#11 Brady Jones
: 6' 0"; Freshman; R/R
: INF/RHP

#21 Matt Ruiz
: 6' 3"; Junior; R/R
: INF