MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Interstat) — The Sun Belt Baseball Championship opens Tuesday with a first-round matchup between seed Georgia State and seed Old Dominion at Riverwalk Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. EDT, with clear skies expected.

Georgia State (26-28) enters as the underdog after a regular season that ended on a high note. The Panthers won two of three against Appalachian State to close their schedule, including a 3-2 victory Saturday in which pitcher Joshua Evans tossed 4 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out one. Evans, a right-hander, has been inconsistent this month. He took a loss May 5 at Kennesaw State after 2 1/3 scoreless innings, but surrendered one earned run in just one-third of an inning May 2 at Louisiana-Lafayette. In an April 24 meeting against Old Dominion, he recorded two outs without allowing a hit or a run.

The Monarchs (29-25) have been steady and earned the higher seed by winning four of their past six games. Old Dominion dropped its regular-season finale 7-3 to James Madison on Saturday, but reliever Nick Sulpizio sparkled with three scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out five. Sulpizio has been a reliable arm out of the bullpen. In his past four appearances, he has allowed just one earned run over 11 2/3 innings, striking out 14. His only rough outing came April 26 against Georgia State, when he allowed four earned runs in one-third of an inning.

The teams split their regular-season series in Atlanta, with Old Dominion taking two of three. The Monarchs won 10-2 on April 24, then dropped 10-4 and 8-7 (10-inning) decisions on April 25-26. Georgia State’s late-inning comeback in the series finale included a walk-off win.

Old Dominion’s offense has been powered by shortstop Will Johnson, who homered and drove in a run in Saturday’s loss. Catcher Cole Griffith led Georgia State in its last win, going 1 for 2 with a home run and two RBIs.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-4 Old Dominion victory. The winner advances to face the seed in the double-elimination tournament Wednesday.