VALDOSTA, Ga. - After a week of winter weather in Cleveland, Miss. left the Delta State baseball field unplayable, Valdosta State is set to host the Statesmen at Billy Grant Field Saturday and Sunday in a key Gulf South Conference series.
The weekend series was originally scheduled to be played at Delta State, but rain early in the week followed by snow and ice on Wednesday left the field unplayable. With temperatures not scheduled to rise above 40 degrees through Saturday, the two schools agreed on Thursday to move the series to Valdosta.
The Blazers, who are ranked No. 23 in the latest Collegiate Baseball News poll, enter the weekend with a 9-3 record and a 4-2 mark in Gulf South Conference play. VSU enters the weekend's play batting .356 as a team and averages 10.4 runs per game. Valdosta State has shown some power in the early part of the season as it has hit 16 home runs thus far, including eight homers in a three-game sweep of West Florida last weekend.
Kevin Cruz, the reigning GSC Player of the Week, leads the team with five homers to go long with a .468 batting average.
Bryant Hayman leads the squad with a .489 batting average and 19 runs driven in while
Hayden Jones has hit three home runs, driven in 17 runs, scored 17 times and sports a .476 batting average.
Meanwhile, the Blazer pitching staff owns a 3.77 earned run average.
Mitchell Cody and
Kyle Andre have each tallied a 2-0 record on the season, with Cody sporting a 2.03 ERA and Andre a 3.26. Valdosta State's hurlers limits opponents to a .229 batting average and 4.1 runs per game.
Delta State has seen much of its early schedule disrupted by weather as the Statesmen have not played since February 15 due to cancellations. On the season, DSU, who has yet to play a home game on the year, is 2-5 overall and 1-2 in GSC play. The Statesmen bat .269 as a team and average 5.1 runs per game. Trent Giambrone leads the squad as he batts .375 while Ben Pickard is right behind with a .360 batting average and has driven in seven runs while also scoring seven times.
The Delta State pitching staff currently owns a 6.38 earned run average and has allowed 45 runs, an average of 6.4 per game, on the season. Foes bat .249 against the Statesmen.
The series is scheduled for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday followed by a single game at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
