GSC Release 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Valdosta State baseball team had five players named to the 2019 All-Gulf South Conference Baseball Teams, the league office announced Tuesday.  VSU had two first team selections and three second team honorees.  
 
VSU senior shortstop DJ King and senior third baseman Josh Broughton earned first team honors, while junior second baseman Jowenrick Daantji, junior outfielder Logan Stephens and junior pitcher Tristan Cone were named to the second team.
 
The Blazers had five selections to the all-conference teams as it was third-most among league members. Mississippi College had the most with seven total selections, while West Florida had six honorees.  VSU's two first team selections also marked the third-most with West Florida having a league-best five first teamers and Delta State was second with three first team honorees.
 
Mike Jeffcoat, head coach at West Florida, earned GSC Coach of the Year honors, while his freshman Tony Rossi was named GSC Freshman of the Year and his pitcher Andrew Vaccaio was named Pitcher of the Year.  Mississippi College's Blaine Crim was named GSC Player of the Year for 2019.  
 
King, a native of Fort Meade, Fla., finished the regular season as one of three Blazers to play and start all 46 games.  He is third on the team in average at a .337 clip, while going 62 of 184 from the dish as his 62 hits ranks second on the team. King has 11 doubles with one triple and one home run for the Blazers, while driving in 29 runs for third on the team and scoring 38 runs for third on the team. King had a season-high 35-game reaching base streak earlier this year and has 18 multi-hit games for second on the team. He has been walked 12 times and hit by pitches ten times.  
 
Broughton, a native of Callahan, Fla., transferred to VSU this year from Elon College.  He leads the team with 66 hits and is second in batting average at a .365 clip.  Broughton has a team-high 13 doubles, a team-best four triples and is tied for the team-lead in home runs with four.  He has scored 41 runs for second on the team and has 44 RBI to lead the team. Broughton is slugging .547 and reaching base at a .429 clip.  He is 12 of 15 in stolen bases this season.  Broughton also has come out of the bullpen, appearing in seven games with a 1-0 record in six innings.  
 
He ranks second in the GSC in hits for 60^thnationally, while ranking 22^ndnationally in sacrifice flies for second in the league (6).  Broughton is second in the league in triples (4) for 43^rdnationally.  He leads the team with 22 multi-hit games this season.  
 
Daantji is hitting .315 for the Blazers this season as he has started 42 games.  He has 52 hits for fourth on the team, along with 11 doubles, three triples and one home run.  He has driven in 37 and scored 30 runs, while going 19 of 25 in stolen bases.  He has 17 multi-hit games this season and had a 14-game hitting streak during the year.  He ranks third in the GSC in stolen bases (19) for 70^thnationally, while ranking fifth in the league in sacrifice bunts (7) for 50^thnationally.  
 
Stephens leads the Blazers in batting average this season at a .393 clip for second in the league and 65^thnationally.  He is third in hits with 55, while scoring 30 runs with 11 doubles, one triple and 27 RBI. Stephens is slugging .468 with 12 walks, three hit batsmen and is 5 of 6 in stolen bases.  The Valdosta native, has 15 multi-hit games this season, while leading the team with a 16-game hitting streak during the year.  He also reached base in 26-straight games during the season for the second-longest streak on the team.  Stephens is 41^stnationally and second in the GSC in toughest to strikeout at a 12.7 clip, as he has whiffed just 11 times in 140 at bats this season.
 
Cone has had a tremendous season for the Blazers on the bump as he is 4-0 with a 2.94 ERA in 18 appearances with 12 starts and one complete game.  He has combined in three shutouts on the year, while pitching 67.1 innings to lead the team.  Cone has allowed 58 hits, 25 runs – 22 earned, walked 23 and fanned 75 for second on the team. He is a team-best 4-0 on the year. He ranks sixth in the GSC in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.02, while ranking sixth in the league in WHIP at 1.20. 
 
The Blazers, seeded sixth in the upcoming GSC Championship, take on No. 3-seed Delta State Friday at 11 a.m. ET at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.  Chris Caray will have the coverage of the game at 92.1 WDDQ FM. Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats and audio/streaming of the championship.