GEORGIA STATE (8-9, 0-0 SBC) at SOUTH ALABAMA (12-5, 0-0 SBC)
March 15-16 | Stanky Field, Mobile, Ala.| ESPN+

THE SERIES (Please note revised schedule)
Friday: 2 p.m. ET
Saturday DH: 3 p.m. ET (Game 2 approx. 1 hour after conclusion of Game 2

LEADING OFF
> Georgia State opens Sun Belt Conference play with a weekend series at South Alabama, beginning Friday with a 7 p.m. ET game at Stanky Field.

> In its final non-conference game before opening Sun Belt play, Georgia State fell 4-3 to No. 20 Tuesday at SRP Park in North Augusta, S.C. 

> Third baseman Will Mize is the Panthers' top hitter, leading the team with a .324 average, six homers and 15 RBI. The fifth-year senior has been hot of late with six homers and 14 RBI over the last nine games.

> Georgia State has hit 29 homers on the season to rank No. 24 in Division I. Three Panthers have five or more homers: Will Mize (6), Ryan Dyal (6) and Luke Boynton (5) 

> Boynton has moved up to No. 7 in GSU history with 33 career homers, while Mize is in the Top 20 with 23.

> Georgia State ranked No. 14 in Division I with a school-record 110 home runs in 2023. The Panthers return 79 of those homers, including five players who hit 10 or more in 2023: Luke Boynton (16), JoJo Jackson (13), Dylan Strickland (12), Matt Ruiz (10) and Colin Hynek (10). 

> Georgia State features much more experience among position players than on the mound, where the Panthers returned only five starts from last season, none on the weekend.

> Under fifth-year head coach Brad Stromdahl, Georgia State recorded back-to-back 30-win seasons in 2022 and 2023, a first for the program since four in a row from 2008-2011, when Stromdahl was a GSU assistant coach. The Panthers were 30-29 in 2023, including a 16-14 mark in the Sun Belt.

> Stromdahl 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). In his 12th season as a head coach, Stromdahl is 423-213. 

SERIES NOTES
> Georgia State and South Alabama are meeting in Mobile for the second straight year. Last season, the Panthers won 15-5 on Friday night, but the Jaguars took the series, winning 5-2 and 7-2.
> Georgia State has won four of the last five against the Jaguars. Before last year's Friday night win, the Panthers swept South Alabama in Atlanta in 2022, 10-8, 4-3 and 9-5.
In the current Sun Belt era (since 2014), South Alabama leads the series 19-8, with seven of the eight GSU wins coming in Atlanta. In all games, South Alabama leads 29-9.

IMPACT NEWCOMERS
> Transfers Rob Evans (Chipola JC) and Tyler Roche (St. John's) have been the Panthers' top starting pitchers. Evans, the Friday starter, is 2-1 with a 4.58 ERA, while Roche is 2-1 with a 5.49 ERA.
> A third transfer, sixth-year senior Baley Coleman, joins the rotation this weekend. Coleman went 24-8 with a 3.73 ERA over the last four seasons at LaGrange (Ga.) College. He was a two-time ABCA All-Region selection and led LaGrange to the NCAA DIII World Series in 2022.

> Senior Ryan Dyal, a transfer from Auburn, has been the most impactful newcomer in the lineup with six home runs and 14 RBI (second on team). The versatile left-handed hitter can catch or play the outfield or first base.

MORE PLAYER NOTES
> The veteran of the GSU squad as a fifth-year senior, third baseman Will Mize hit .308 with nine homers and 49 RBI in 2023. He has a .304 career average, 23 homers and 119 RBI in 179 career games for the Panthers (158 starts).

> Senior first baseman Luke Boynton is the Panthers' top returning hitter after hitting .295 with 16 homers (No. 10 in the Sun Belt) and 34 RBI in 2023. 

> Shortstop Matt Ruiz made a big impact in his first season at Georgia State, hitting .308 with 10 homers and 49 RBI while playing excellent defense in 2023. The USF transfer led the team with 57 runs scored and was second in RBI and stolen bases (13-for-17). This season he is the team's second-leading hitter at .298.

> Switch-hitting outfielder JoJo Jackson enjoyed a breakout sophomore season, when he was Georgia State's third-leading hitter with a .319 average, along with 13 homers, 10 doubles and 41 RBI. This season, he has three homers and 10 RBI.

> Dylan Strickland hit .302 with 12 homers and 38 RBI while splitting in 2023. He was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and Sun Belt Conference POTW on March 20, 2023 after going 7-for-14 with five homers, 10 RBI and nine runs scored in four games, including five homers in a span of seven plate appearances vs. Troy. 

> Sophomore Brennan Hudson has earned playing time with hot hitting in the last week. The left-handed hitting catcher/first baseman hit two huge homers last week. First, in last Wednesday's win over Mercer, he hit a 2-run homer in the sixth inning to pull GSU within 4-3 before the Panthers went on two win 6-4. Then he hit a 2-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth for Saturday's 12-11 win over Army.

> Sophomores Brady Jones and Davis Chastain have been the Panthers' top performers out of the bullpen. Jones is 1-0 with one save and a 1.42 ERA after going 2-2 with four saves as a a freshman, highlighted by a save in Georgia State's win at Georgia. Davis is 1-1 with one save and a 1.04 ERA.