VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State baseball team returns home to host West Georgia for the 2019 regular season finale this weekend at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park.  
 
The series gets underway with a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by Senior Day on Sunday at 1 p.m.  VSU will honor seven seniors prior to Sunday's contest playing in their final regular season home game for the Blazers.  The 2019 senior class includes; Josh Broughton, Trevin Eubanks, Judson George, Call Graham, Mack Hathcock, DJ King and Andrew Williamson.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page for the series.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for complete recaps and stats of the games.
 
Heading into the weekend, VSU sits at 25-18 overall and 12-11 in Gulf South Conference play.  The Blazers have clinched a spot in next week's Gulf South Conference Championship and have a chance to move up the standings with a strong weekend to close the regular season.  VSU currently sits seventh in the standings, but West Georgia is right in front of the Blazers with a 14-12 conference mark and a 25-21 record overall.  If the Blazers were to sweep UWG this weekend, VSU could potentially jump to fifth depending on how the rest of the games in the league go this weekend.  
 
The 2019 Gulf South Conference Championship is scheduled for May 3-7 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. Click herefor a link to the GSC Championship page.  The Blazers are 33-33 overall in the Gulf South Conference Championship in 19 appearances.  The Blazers have reached the semifinals 12 times and the championship game eight times, winning the title four times and most recently in 2013. The 33 wins are third-most among active GSC members, while ranking fourth all-time in GSC history, including former league members.
 
VSU enters the weekend winners of 11 of its last 13 games, including a 7-4, come-from-behind win at Flagler on Tuesday to sweep the season series with the Saints.  Trailing 2-0 after the first inning, the Blazers dug deep, scoring a run in the top of the second and then scored three runs in the fourth for a 4-2 lead and never trailed again.  Junior Zach Blankenship was masterful for the Blazers in two innings as he allowed one hit in relief, while fanning six to earn the win. Eubanks picked up his sixth save of the season, while King went 3 for 5 with a run scored and junior Logan Stephens was 2 for 2 with a run scored and one RBI.  
 
 
UWG enters the week on the heels of a 13-3 win at No. 24 North Georgia as the Wolves have gone 4-4 in the last eight games after winning 13 of the previous 15 games.  The Wolves are 7-11 on the road this season, while going 18-7 at home and 0-3 in neutral site games.  UWG is hitting .301 with 464 hits in 1541 at bats, while recording 95 doubles, 14 triples, 37 home runs and 294 RBI.  The team is slugging .453 and reaching base at a .395 average with 190 walks and been plunked 61 times.  UWG is 76 of 90 in stolen bases and has a .961 fielding percentage with 65 errors leading to 42 unearned runs. 
 
The Wolves are led by Logan Taylor at the dish as he boasts a .391 average to lead the team.  He has 63 hits for second on the team, while scoring 38 runs with a team-high 15 doubles, two triples and seven home runs. Taylor has driven in a team-best 52, while slugging .640 to lead the team and is reaching base at a .487 clip for the best on the squad.  He has walked a team-high 29 times and been hit four times.  Taylor has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 352 putouts in 370 chances.  Cade Marlowe is second in average at a .385 clip on a team-best 68 of 178.  He has scored a team-high 52 runs with nine doubles, a team-high four triples and three home runs, while driving in 31. Marlowe is slugging .528 and reaching base at a .451 average, while leading the team in stolen bases on 38 of 41. Dan Oberst is third in average (.326) and leads the team with 12 doubles, while Nick Poskey has a team-high eight home runs.  
 
On the bump, UWG has a 5.05 ERA in 387 innings, allowing 428 hits, 259 runs – 217 earned, walked 139 and fanned 335 as teams are hitting .276 against it.  Taylor Boisclair leads the team with a 3.86 ERA in 11 appearances with 10 starts.  He has pitched 53.2 innings for second on the team, while recording just eight walks and 43 strikeouts for second on the team.  Ryan Parker is 4-4 with a 4.17 ERA in 15 appearances and eight starts.  He has pitched a team-high 54 innings.  Cory Bartholomew leads the team with 47 strikeouts this season, while Drew Hayles has a team-high four saves.  
 
As a team, UWG is 23^rdnationally and first in the league in doubles (94), while ranking 22^ndin hits (462) for first in the league.  The Wolves are second in the league in home runs (37) for 56^thnationally, while ranking first in the conference and 35^thnationally in runs scored (326).  UWG is second in the league behind VSU in sacrifice bunts (35) for 21^stnationally.  The Wolves lead the GSC in slugging percentage (.451) for 59^thnationally, while leading the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio at a 2.41 clip for 31^stnationally.  UWG is 39^thnationally and first in the league in triples (14), while leading the league in walks per nine innings at 3.23 for 24^thnationally. 
 
Marlow is 17^thnationally in hits (67), while ranking 23^rdnationally for first in the GSC in runs (52).  He is 33rd nationally in triples (4) to lead the conference.  Marlow is second nationally in stolen bases (38).  Taylor is second in the league in average at .391, while ranking third in the GSC in doubles (15) for 49^thnationally. He is 47^thnationally in hits for second in the league with 63.  Taylor is 18^thin RBI with 52 for third in the league.  Boisclair is 38^thnationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.38) to lead the league, while he is first in the league in 22^ndnationally in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.34.  
 
VSU enters the series leading the GSC in batting average at a .301 clip for 53^rdnationally. The Blazers are 28^thnationally in ERA for third in the league at 3.95, while ranking 23^rdin hit by pitch for third in the GSC (65).  VSU is eighth nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (7.72) for second in the league, while ranking second in the league in on base percentage for (.400) for 55^thnationally.  VSU is fifth nationally in sacrifice bunts (43), 22^ndin shutouts (4) and is 29^thin stolen bases (83) for first in the league. VSU is 12^thin strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.3) to lead the team, while ranking 38^thin WHIP (1.39) for second in the conference.  
 
Hathcock is ninth nationally and first in the league in walks (39), while he is 17^thin hit by pitch for second in the league (17).  He ranks second in the league in on base percentage at a .497 clip for 45^thnationally, while ranking fourth in the league in runs scored (43).  Broughton is second in the conference in hits (63) for 47^thnationally, while, he is third in the league in sacrifice flies (5) for 39^thnationally. Junior Jowenrick Daantji is 47^thin the country in stolen baes (19) for third in the league, while Hathcock is fourth in the league with 17.  Stephens is 43^rdnationally and first in the league in toughest to strikeout at 12.7 at bats per strikeout.  Junior Mike Christopoulos is 20^thnationally in sacrifice bunts (8) for second in the league.  
 
On the mound, junior Tristan Cone is third in the GSC in ERA at 2.64, while he is sixth in the league in starts (11) as is junior Jonathan Gettys.  Eubanks leads the GSC in saves (6) for 29^thnationally, while Gettys is 14^thnationally and second in the league in strikeouts per nine innings (13.68).  
 
Hathcock leads the team with a current 13-game streak of reaching base and had a 17-game streak earlier in the season.  King reached base in the first 35 games of the season for the team-high.  King and Williamson each have a current team-best seven-game hitting streak, as Stephens had a 16-game streak earlier in the year. Broughton has 22 multi-hit games this season to lead the team, while Daantji has 12 multi-RBI games for the team-lead.