Baseball 4/28/2023 2:36:00 PM

Panthers Host Marshall, Series Schedule Updated

The series will conclude with a doubleheader Saturday

GEORGIA STATE (21-21, 8-10) vs. MARSHALL (16-22, 5-13)
April 28-29 | GSU Baseball Complex

Please Note the Updated Series Schedule:
Game 1: Friday, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, 1 p.m. (DH)
Game 3: Saturday, 4 p.m. (DH)

LEADING OFF
> Coming off a 9-7 victory at Georgia Tuesday, Georgia State returns home to host Marshall in a Sun Belt Conference series Friday through Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex.

> In the crowded Sun Belt standings, Georgia State is currently in 11th place but is just two games out of third place.

> Luke Boynton hit two homers and Will Mize homered and drove in four runs to lead the Panthers at Georgia. Freshman Brady Jones pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out Georgia standout Charlie Condon to end the game and earn his third save.

> Georgia State is No. 8 in Division I with 82 home runs, led by Luke Boynton with 13, Max Ryerson with 11, Dylan Strickland with 10 and JoJo Jackson with nine.

> After hitting three in Tuesday's win at Georgia, the Panthers' total of 82 home runs is tied for the GSU season record, set in 2010. Georgia State hit 75 last year for a total of 157 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.

> Max Ryerson is second the Sun Belt in batting average at .406 and first in on-base percentage at .530 (No. 12 in Division I). He has 11 homers and 31 RBI, and his OPS is 1.218. He is tied for 10th among active D1 players with 42 career home runs.

> Friday starter Ryan Watson earned his 17th career victory last Friday at South Alabama to move into sole possession of fourth place in GSU history. The super senior right-hander also ranks third in Panther annals with 12 career saves. He Georgia State's career leader in combined wins (17) and saves (12) with 29.

> Fourth-year head coach Brad Stromdahl earned his 400th career victory vs. James Madison on April 8. Stromdahl (406-196 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).

WHO'S HOT
> Cameron Jones leads the Sun Belt and ranks No. 8 in Division I in stolen bases with 28. That is the second-highest season figure in program history, six 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.

> Jones has been hot at the plate, hitting .533 (16-for-30) for his last eight games with seven RBI and a .576 on-base percentage.

> Max Ryerson has also been hot for his last eight games with a .464 average (13-for-28), a .615 on-base percentage, four homers and 10 RBI.

> Luke Boynton hit two homers in Tuesday's win at Georgia, giving him a team-high 13 on the season. He hit three homers in the Clemson series and two in the Coastal Carolina series, and he hit a grand slam in the Friday win over Arkansas State. The junior first baseman has 25 career homers.

> Catcher Colin Hynek hit two homers last week with a grand slam vs. Mercer and a solo shot in Friday's win at South Alabama. He combined to go 5-for-7 with seven RBI in the two wins. Hynek has eight homers on the season.

> 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 .35 with 10 homers and 31 RBI.

> Third baseman Will Mize homered and drove in four runs in the win at Georgia. He is hitting .322 with seven home runs and a team-leading 39 RBI.

> Sophomore outfielder JoJo Jackson is hitting .319 with nine homers and 29 RBI. He leads the team with 29 walks.

> 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.

SERIES VS. MARSHALL
Georgia State and Marshall have met once before, an 8-3 win by the Panthers in the 2017 season opener in the Atlanta Challenge at the GSU Baseball Complex.

Print Friendly Version

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

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

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

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

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