Friday, February 18
Atlanta, Ga.
3 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
at
Georgia State
2022 Baseball Season Starts in Atlanta at Georgia State
2/16/2022 7:57:00 PM | Baseball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Mastodons' second season in the Horizon League will start with a four-game non-league series at Georgia State this weekend.
Game Day Information
When: Friday, February 18 | 3 p.m.
Saturday, February 19 | 1 p.m. | doubleheader
Sunday, February 20 | 1 p.m.
Where: GSU Baseball Complex | Atlanta, Georgia
Video: None
Live Stats: GM 1 | GM 2 | GM 3 | GM 4
Series History: Georgia State leads 4-0. The two clubs played a four-game series in 2008 with the Panthers winning 12-2, 13-2, 6-4 and 5-4.
Weather: Clear, high of 66 Friday, 57 Saturday and 61 Sunday.
Probable Starters:
Purdue Fort Wayne: LHP Justin Miller (5-7, 7.15), RHP JD Deany (transfer), RHP Mitchell Spencer (transfer), RHP Bryce Martens (freshman)
Georgia State: LHP Brandon Kaminer (transfer), RHP Chandler Dawson (3-2, 4.80), RHP Trey Horton (0-2, 4.15), RHP Dylan Matela (0-6, 5.48)
Scouting the Panthers: Georgia State was 18-37 last season, going 12-12 in the Sun Belt. They defeated ULM but fell to Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt tournament. Junior outfielder Josh Smith was named a Preseason All-American by the NCBWA, which tabbed him to the third team. Smith is the Panthers' top returning hitter after leading the team in average (.324), homers (10), RBIs (35) and stolen bases (10) in a breakout 2021 season.
New Faces: The 2022 Mastodon roster features 15 returners from last season and 18 newcomers.
Call It A Career: Jack Lang returns for 2022 after starting all 46 games last year. He has played in 152 games with 140 starts in his career. Should he hold down a starting spot for all scheduled 56 games, he would finish with 208 games played and 196 starts. Both totals would rank second in program history. Only Shane Trevino (2012-16) would own more games played (234) and started (228) as a Mastodon.
Miller Time: Justin Miller enters the season with 126 career strikeouts. He will need to reach 137 to get into the top 10 in program history and pass Jake Weber who recorded 136 strikeouts from 2015-17.
Miller Time X2: Justin Miller enters the season with a career 10.2 strikeouts per nine average, best in program history for a Mastodon who played multiple seasons.
Miller Time X3: Justin Miller's career opponent batting average of .256 ranks third all-time in program history. Only Evan Miller (.240 from 2015-16) and Chuck Weaver (.244 from 2012-13) rank better.
Smart Mastodon: Garett Lake was named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Academic Team last season thanks to a 3.83 GPA. He played in 44 games with 43 starts in center field in 2021. He led the Mastodons in OPS (.911), slugging percentage (.503), triples (3), home runs (7), walks (23) and hit by pitch (8). He also had a perfect fielding percentage with 109 putouts and an assist.
Put HOF On The Signature: Former Mastodon Brad Smock was inducted in to the Mastodon Hall of Fame last week. Smock was a Mastodon mainstay for the 'Dons in their final years of Division II. The former catcher ranks fourth in program history in runs scored (124), fifth in hits (191), fifth in total bases (273) and sixth in at-bats (626).
Up Next: The 'Dons will head to California to play Cal Baptist in four games next weekend.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Game Day Information
When: Friday, February 18 | 3 p.m.
Saturday, February 19 | 1 p.m. | doubleheader
Sunday, February 20 | 1 p.m.
Where: GSU Baseball Complex | Atlanta, Georgia
Video: None
Live Stats: GM 1 | GM 2 | GM 3 | GM 4
Series History: Georgia State leads 4-0. The two clubs played a four-game series in 2008 with the Panthers winning 12-2, 13-2, 6-4 and 5-4.
Weather: Clear, high of 66 Friday, 57 Saturday and 61 Sunday.
Probable Starters:
Purdue Fort Wayne: LHP Justin Miller (5-7, 7.15), RHP JD Deany (transfer), RHP Mitchell Spencer (transfer), RHP Bryce Martens (freshman)
Georgia State: LHP Brandon Kaminer (transfer), RHP Chandler Dawson (3-2, 4.80), RHP Trey Horton (0-2, 4.15), RHP Dylan Matela (0-6, 5.48)
Scouting the Panthers: Georgia State was 18-37 last season, going 12-12 in the Sun Belt. They defeated ULM but fell to Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt tournament. Junior outfielder Josh Smith was named a Preseason All-American by the NCBWA, which tabbed him to the third team. Smith is the Panthers' top returning hitter after leading the team in average (.324), homers (10), RBIs (35) and stolen bases (10) in a breakout 2021 season.
New Faces: The 2022 Mastodon roster features 15 returners from last season and 18 newcomers.
Call It A Career: Jack Lang returns for 2022 after starting all 46 games last year. He has played in 152 games with 140 starts in his career. Should he hold down a starting spot for all scheduled 56 games, he would finish with 208 games played and 196 starts. Both totals would rank second in program history. Only Shane Trevino (2012-16) would own more games played (234) and started (228) as a Mastodon.
Miller Time: Justin Miller enters the season with 126 career strikeouts. He will need to reach 137 to get into the top 10 in program history and pass Jake Weber who recorded 136 strikeouts from 2015-17.
Miller Time X2: Justin Miller enters the season with a career 10.2 strikeouts per nine average, best in program history for a Mastodon who played multiple seasons.
Miller Time X3: Justin Miller's career opponent batting average of .256 ranks third all-time in program history. Only Evan Miller (.240 from 2015-16) and Chuck Weaver (.244 from 2012-13) rank better.
Smart Mastodon: Garett Lake was named to the 2021 Horizon League All-Academic Team last season thanks to a 3.83 GPA. He played in 44 games with 43 starts in center field in 2021. He led the Mastodons in OPS (.911), slugging percentage (.503), triples (3), home runs (7), walks (23) and hit by pitch (8). He also had a perfect fielding percentage with 109 putouts and an assist.
Put HOF On The Signature: Former Mastodon Brad Smock was inducted in to the Mastodon Hall of Fame last week. Smock was a Mastodon mainstay for the 'Dons in their final years of Division II. The former catcher ranks fourth in program history in runs scored (124), fifth in hits (191), fifth in total bases (273) and sixth in at-bats (626).
Up Next: The 'Dons will head to California to play Cal Baptist in four games next weekend.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
OF/1B/P
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