VALDOSTA, Ga. – Fresh off a sweep at Auburn Montgomery, the Valdosta State baseball team returns home to begin a big week of play with Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park. VSU then hosts a key three-game series against Rollins beginning Friday.
The game against Georgia Southwestern begins an eight-game homestand through March 7 as VSU will host Rollins for a 5 p.m. first pitch Friday, followed by a 2 p.m. start Saturday and a 1 p.m. series finale Sunday. The Blazers are scheduled to host Thomas University on Mar. 4 and then return to GSC play hosting Lee Mar. 6-7.
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page. Check back with the site following the games for complete recaps and stats.
VSU improved to 8-3 overall and 4-1 in Gulf South Conference play with the sweep of Auburn Montgomery this past weekend. The Blazers went 4-0 last week, including a thrilling 4-3, come-from-behind win at Saint Leo last Tuesday.
For the AUM series, VSU hit .310 with 31 hits in 100 at bats, scoring 20 runs with six doubles, one triple, five home runs and drove in 18. The team slugged .540 and reached base at a .367 clip with eight walks and a hit batsman. VSU went 4 of 5 on the base paths and committed five errors leading to two unearned runs.
Individually, senior
Jowenrick Daantji led team with six hits, two doubles, one triple and three RBI, while scoring four runs as he hit .429 for the series. He slugged .714 and reached base at a .429 clip. Senior
David Maberry hit .417, scoring three runs with five hits, one double, two home runs and a team-high eight RBI. He slugged 1.000 and reached base at a .462 clip with one walk. Senior
Nick Lewis also had five hits in the series with four runs scored, one home run and two RBI.
On the mound, the Blazers boasted a 2.52 ERA in 25 innings, allowing 23 hits, nine runs – seven earned, walked seven and fanned 28 as AUM hit .235 against it. Seniors
Cooper Cain and
Tristan Cone combined for 20 strikeouts and just five walks in two of the three wins over the Warhawks. They pitched 14 innings combined, while senior
Zach Blankenship won the opener in five innings of work, allowing seven hits, one earned run, walked one and fanned three. Both senior
Alec Aleywine and junior
Weston Bizzle picked up saves. Aleywine also had the win in the game at Saint Leo earlier in the week.
Georgia Southwestern enters with a 4-9 record overall and a 2-4 mark in the Peach Belt Conference. This will be the first of two meetings with the Hurricanes this season, as VSU will travel to Americus, Ga., on Apr. 14, for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
The Hurricanes went 1-2 last weekend versus Young Harris and are hitting .196 for the year on 86 of 438. The team has scored 46 runs with 13 doubles and 39 RBI. Anthony Angelino leads the team with a .288 average on 15 of 52 with one run scored, one double and 11 RBI. Matthew Mamatas is second in average at .261 with 12 hits, six runs scored, two doubles and five RBI. Gunner George is third in average at .250 with 11 hits, a team-high nine runs scored, while he also has walked a team-high nine times and has driven in one.
On the hill, the 'Canes have a 3.80 ERA in 113.2 innings, allowing 121 hits, 67 runs – 48 earned, walked 54 and fanned 83 as teams are hitting .272 against them. Tucker Smith has pitched a team-high 25.2 innings, allowing 29 hits, ten runs – eight earned, walked six and fanned 20. He is 1-2 with a 2.81 ERA. Anthony Capasso has a 3.79 ERA in 19 innings, allowing 22 hits, 18 runs – eight earned, walked eight and fanned seven. He is 0-4 with a 3.79 ERA.
The Blazers have had their troubles recently with GSW as the Hurricanes have won the last four meetings and seven of ten. During the four-game skid, GSW has outscored VSU 25-11. VSU leads the all-time series 15-13 and are 9-6 all-time at home against the 'Canes.
Rollins enters the series on Friday with a 9-4 record overall and a 2-1 mark in the Sunshine State Conference. The Tars went 2-1 last weekend against Florida Tech, losing the first game 8-1 and winning the final two, 3-2 and 7-3. VSU downed Florida Tech 10-4 in Wingate, N.C., earlier this season.
The Tars sit in a five-way tie for first in the SSC standings after one weekend of league play. Rollins is the fifth team from the SSC VSU has faced this season as the Blazers are 1-1 against Embry-Riddle and 1-0 against Florida Tech, 1-0 against Palm Beach Atlantic and 1-0 against Saint Leo for a 4-1 record. VSU also will face Tampa this season and Saint Leo again later in the year.
Leading the way for Rollins this season is Cameron Meehan at a .358 clip on 19 of 53 from the dish. He has scored nine runs with two doubles, two triples, one home run and seven RBI. He is slugging .528 and reaching base at a .424 clip, with four walks and been plunked twice. Jake Rolly is second in average at .350 with 14 hits, five runs scored, one double, one triple, one home run and seven RBI. Devon Ortiz (.308) is second in hits with 16 and leads the team with ten runs scored, while he is 9 of 10 in stolen bases to lead the team. Adam Torres and Andres Antonini leads the team with two home runs each.
As a team, the Tars have a .292 average with 127 hits, 65 runs scored, 16 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and 53 RBI. The team is slugging .409 and reaching base at a .369 clip with 44 walks and 13 hit batsmen. RC has 17 errors for a .967 fielding percentage, while it is 26-32 in stolen bases.
Rollins has been outstanding on the mound thus far with a 2.67 ERA in 118 innings, allowing 99 hits, 47 runs – 35 earned, walked 48 and fanned 97 as teams are hitting .226 against it. Drew Daczkowski leads the team with a 0.43 ERA and is 2-1 on the year in four starts. He has pitched 21 innings, allowing 10 hits, two runs – one earned, walked six and fanned 25 as teams are hitting .135 against him. Tate Stone-Frisina is 2-1 with a 3.92 ERA in four starts. He has pitched 20.2 innings, allowing 22 hits, 12 runs – nine earned, walked five and fanned 20. Steven Swift is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings. He has appeared in four games with two starts, allowing five hits, three earned runs, walked seven and fanned five as teams are hitting .111 against him.
VSU moved back into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top Ten in the South Region this week at tenth, after receiving votes last week. Rollins is fifth in the rankings this week, moving up from eighth last week.
The Blazers have won four-straight entering the week and are hitting .290 for the season with 104 hits in 359 at bats. VSU has outscored the opposition 71-43 and has 18 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 61 RBI. The Blazers are slugging .457 and reaching base at a .378 clip with 47 walks and six hit batsmen. VSU has committed 14 errors leading to six unearned runs.
Lewis leads the team with 15 hits, along with a team-high three doubles and has two home runs, while driving in seven runs and scoring seven times. He is slugging .800 and reaching base at a .595 clip with six walks and been plunked once. Maberry is second in hits with 13 and has scored a team-high ten runs, while recording one double and a team-high four home runs with 13 RBI to lead the team. Aleywine also has scored ten times, while recording ten hits, two doubles, three home runs and eight RBI. He is slugging .538 and reaching base at a .370 clip with six walks and has been hit by a pitch.
On the mound, the Blazers have a 3.54 ERA in 94 innings, allowing 82 hits, 43 runs – 37 earned, walked 39 and fanned 100. Teams are hitting .230 against it. Cone is 3-0 on the year with a 4.12 ERA in a team-high 24 innings of work, allowing 23 hits, 12 runs – 11 earned, walked nine and fanned a team-high 35. Cain is 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 16.2 innings of work, allowing 12 hits, six runs – three earned, walked six and fanned 18. Blankenship is 2-0 with a 3.79 ERA in 19 innings. He's allowed 21 hits, eight earned runs, walked five and fanned 17. Aleywine is 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings of relief and two saves.
