UPDATE:
Tuesday's scheduled game at USC Upstate has been rained out. No makeup date has been set yet.
NEXT GAME
Georgia State is back home Friday (4 p.m.) to begin a four-game set vs. Coppin State at the the GSU Baseball Complex.
LEADING OFF
• After opening the season with a 3-2, 12-inning victory over Western Michigan, Georgia State dropped close games to VCU (8-6) and Purdue (5-3) in the Atlanta Challenge.
• Georgia State is winless in four tries against USC Upstate, losing home-and-home series in 2010 (9-7 and 8-5) and 2012 (4-1 in Spartanburg and 15-3 in Atlanta).
• GSU's early-season schedule features 19 of the first 21 games at home, with short trips to USC Upstate and Georgia Tech sprinkled in.
• Three Panthers were tabbed to the Preseason All-Sun Belt team in catcher Joey Roach, center fielder Ryan Blanton and shortstop Justin Jones.
• Roach and Blanton are returning first-team all-conference picks, while Jones was a Freshman All-American in 2015. That trio combined to hit .309 with 14 homers, 89 RBI and 105 runs scored while providing strong defense up the middle.
• Roach ranks second among active Sun Belt players in career hits (145), third in RBI (88) and fifth in homers (14).
• Senior left-hander Wayne Wages, who takes over as the closer, was named to the NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.
• This year's roster features 18 returning letterwinners and 17 new players, including five freshmen, two redshirt freshmen and 10 transfers.
• In his 10th season at the helm, head coach Greg Frady enters his 10th season has 284 wins. He needs just 10 victories to become the winningest coach in Georgia State history.
NOTABLES FROM THE OPENING WEEKEND
• Freshman Israel Zackery's first collegiate at-bat came in the bottom of the 12th inning vs. Western Michigan on Opening Day. After entering the game as a defensive replacement, the shortstop from Conyers, Ga., came to the plate in the 3-3 game with two outs and Jarrett Hood at second base. He fell behind 0-2 in the count, then fouled off two pitches and took ball one before singling up the middle to bring home Hood with the winning run.
• Georgia State's outfielders combined for four assists in the first three games, including three runners thrown out at the plate. All-Sun Belt center fielder Ryan Blanton had two of the assists.
• GSU got quality starts from senior Cole Uvila (7 scoreless innings with 6 strikeouts vs. WMU) and junior college transfer Bryce Conley (6 innings with 9 strikeouts and 1 run allowed vs. Purdue).
• Panther pitchers collected 26 strikeouts in the three games.
• Nine position players and four pitchers, including two of the three starters, made their Georgia State debuts.
