Panthers Open Sun Belt Tourney Tuesday vs. Georgia Southern

#8 GEORGIA STATE (29-27, 16-14) vs. #9 GEORGIA SOUTHERN (27-28, 16-14)
Guardians Credit Union Sun Belt Championship
Tuesday, May 23, 7:30 p.m. ET | Riverwalk Stadium, Montgomery, Ala.

WATCH: ESPN+
LISTEN: GSU Athletics app / WGTJ-FM 97.5

Georgia State (29-27, 16-14) won five of its final six games to earn its spot in the Guardians Credit Union Sun Belt Championship presented by Troy University, and the eighth-seeded Panthers open the tournament against No. 9 Georgia Southern in a single-game elimination game on Tuesday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala. The Panthers swept the season series from Georgia Southern on the second-to-last weekend in Atlanta, winning 11-3, 8-2 and 16-5.

The winner of Tuesday's game advances to face either No. 1 Coastal Carolina or No. 2 Southern Miss Wednesday.

LEADING OFF
> Georgia State is No. 10 in Division I with a school-record 106 home runs, led by Max Ryerson (19), Luke Boynton (16), Dylan Strickland (12) and JoJo Jackson (11). The previous GSU record was 82, set in 2010.

> In winning five of six, Georgia State hit .335 as a team with nine homers, including three by Max Ryerson, while Cameron Jones hit .476 and Matt Ruiz .429. The GSU pitching staff compiled a 3.40 ERA, led by starters Rafael Acosta (0.96) and Ryan Watson (2.57).

> Max Ryerson is third in the Sun Belt in batting average (.376), home runs (19) and slugging (.709) and fourth in on-base percentage (.485).

> Ryerson has hit 41 home run in two seasons at Georgia State, tied for third on the Panthers' career chart. He is eighth among active D1 players with 50 career home runs.

> Ryan Watson was named Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week for his final home start against Georgia Southern, when the fifth-year senior right-hander pitched seven scoreless innings to lead the Panthers to an 11-3 win to begin the three-game sweep. He struck out seven and allowed just five hits and one walk.

> Watson has won six straight decisions to improve to 6-1 and earn his 19th career victory, tied for third in GSU history. He also ranks third in Panther annals with 12 career saves, and he is Georgia State's career leader in combined wins (19) and saves (12) with 31.

> Cameron Jones ranks No. 7 in Division I in stolen bases with 36. He broke the Georgia State season record of 34 that was set by Jimmy Fowlkes in 1980.

> Four Panthers were named last week to the CSC Academic All-District® baseball team: Rafael Acosta, Luke Boynton, Duncan Lutz and Camren Landry. They are now eligible for the Academic All-America® team. Georgia State posted a 3.30 team GPA for the spring semester.

> The Panthers are assured of their second straight winning season and third in four seasons under head coach Brad Stromdahl. Georgia State's 16 Sun Belts are the school record.

> Stromdahl earned his 400th career victory vs. James Madison on April 8. Stromdahl (414-202 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.

MORE ON THE PANTHERS
> Redshirt freshman catcher Colin Hynek had two home runs and six RBI in the Georgia Southern series. He has 10 homers on the season, one of five Panthers with 10 or more.

> Cameron 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.

> In the Sunday win over Georgia Southern, Jones had two hits and three runs scored, stole his 34th base to tie the GSU season record and earned the win. He moved from right field to the mound in the fifth inning with bases loaded and one out and struck out the next two to preserve a 5-4 lead. He pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing one run on one hit with four strikeouts.

> Jones has been hot at the plate. Over the last 21 games, he is hitting .456 with a .582 on-base percentage.

> Junior first baseman Luke Boynton hit his 16th home run in the Friday win over Georgia Southern. Boynton hit two homers in the win at Georgia, and then followed with another blast against Marshall. He hit three homers in the Clemson series and two in the Coastal Carolina series, and he belted a grand slam in the Friday win over Arkansas State. The junior first baseman has 28 career homers, 10th in GSU history.

> Shortstop Matt Ruiz, the transfer from USF, has 24 extra base hits: 11 doubles, four triples and nine homers. He is hitting .313 with 49 RBI, but over the last 22 games, his average is .354.

> Third baseman Will Mize is hitting .318 with nine home runs and a team-leading 49 RBI. He has delivered numerous big this throughout the season, most recently the winning run in the 10th inning in last Thursday's win over Old Dominion that clinched Georgia State's Sun Belt tourney berth. He homered and drove in four runs in the win at Georgia.

> 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.

> Strickland hit the game-tying grand slam in the seventh inning in the 7-6 win over Marshall, in which the Panthers rallied from a 6-0 deficit with a seven-run seventh.

> Freshman closer Brady Jones has four saves on the season. In the 9-7 win at Georgia, he struck out Charlie Condon, one of the top hitters in the SEC, with the tying run at second base to end the game. Then he saved the Panthers' 7-6 win over Marshall by pitching scoreless eighth and ninth innings with three strikeouts. Although not a save situation, he pitched the final two innings and struck out four in last Thursday's win over Old Dominion that clinched Georgia State's Sun Belt tourney berth.

> Senior right-hander Joseph Brandon has been key for the Panthers the last two weekends. Relieving starter Rafael Acosta in Game 2 of both series, he pitched 5.2 scoreless innings with six strikeouts, earning the win over Georgia Southern.

SERIES NOTES
> Georgia State swept this year's season series in Atlanta, 11-3, 8-2 and 16-5. The Panthers never trailed in the series and outscored the Eagles 35-10 in the three games.

> Colin Hynek had two homers and six RBI in the series, Max Ryerson put an exclamation point on the sweep with a game-ending grand slam in the eighth inning Sunday.

> Georgia Southern won the only previous meeting in the Sun Belt Championship, 10-1 in 2021.

> Georgia Southern holds a 14-12 lead in the series in the current Sun Belt era (since 2015). The Eagles' overall lead is 70-26.

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