GEORGIA STATE (11-9, 3-0 SBC) vs. GEORGIA TECH (15-4, 3-0 ACC)
March 19 | 4 p.m. | GSU Baseball Complex

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LEADING OFF
> After opening Sun Belt Conference play with a sweep at South Alabama, Georgia State returns home to host in-state rival Georgia Tech Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.

> In the sweep at South Alabama, Georgia State rallied in each of the first two games before winning 11-1 in Game 3 behind five home runs and an outstanding start by Baley Coleman. On Friday, the Panthers trailed 3-0 in the fifth inning before a five-and-half hour weather delay, then scored eight runs after the resumption to win 8-3. In Game 2, GSU fell behind 7-1 after four but scored seven in the fifth inning en route to the 10-7 victory. 

> Georgia Tech won the first meeting this season (10-0 on Feb. 27 at Tech), but the Panthers have defeated the Yellow Jackets in each of the last three seasons. 

> Third baseman Will Mize is the Panthers' top hitter, leading the team with a .321 average, six homers and 20 RBI. The fifth-year senior has been hot of late with six homers and 19 RBI over the last 12 games.

> Georgia State has hit 34 homers on the season to rank No. 29 in Division I. Three Panthers have five or more homers: Ryan Dyal (7), Will Mize (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.

> Right-hander Dylan Matela will get the start on the mound against Georgia Tech, making his third appearance and first start after missing the 2023 season due to elbow surgery. He was the starter and winning pitcher in the Panthers' 2022 victory at Georgia Tech.

> 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 426-213. 

SERIES NOTES
> Georgia State has defeated Georgia Tech in each of the last three seasons. The Panthers won at Tech 10-1 in 2021 and 9-5 in 2022 before the 12-11, 14-inning win at Coolray Field in 2023.

> Brad Stromdahl is 3-4 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 86 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 72-14.

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
3-28-23 (@Coolray) GSU 12, GT 11 (14)

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, joined the rotation last weekend at South Alabama. In his first start for GSU, he threw seven innings and allowed just one run on five hits to earn the victory. 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 a team-leading seven home runs and 17 RBI (second on team). The versatile left-handed hitter has caught and played all three outfield positions as well as first base.