VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a 1-1 weekend to open the 2020 season, the Valdosta State baseball team returns to action on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park versus Thomas University.  VSU then will travel to Wingate for the Wingate Classic this weekend.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming for the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.  Following Tuesday's game, VSU will head to Wingate, N.C., for the tournament as it will face Wingate on Friday at 2 p.m., followed by facing a pair of neutral site opponents on Saturday in Florida Tech (12 p.m.) and Palm Beach Atlantic (4 p.m.). 
 
The Blazers opened the season with a 6-4 win over Embry-Riddle on Saturday in the first game of an abbreviated series as rain cancelled the original opener on Friday evening.  VSU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first three innings and then held off the ERAU rally for the 6-4 win.  In the nightcap, ERAU jumped out to a 5-0 lead through the first five innings for a 7-3 victory.  
 
For the series, VSU hit .250 on 16 of 64, while scoring nine runs, with three doubles and seven RBI.  The Blazers slugged .297 and reached base at a .286 clip with four walks and struck out 20 times.  The Blazers were 1 for 1 in stolen bases and had three errors leading to four unearned runs.  
 
Blazer senior David Maberry went 4 for 8 with three runs scored and an RBI in the series, while senior Mike Christopoulos was 3 for 6 with a run scored, one double and three RBI.  Senior Nick Lewis went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI in the nightcap against ERAU.  
 
On the bump, the Blazers were led by senior Tristan Cone, who went five innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, walked two and fanned six in the opener for the victory.  Junior reliever Jeremy Adams picked up the save in relief in one inning of work.  As a staff, the Blazers have a 3.5 ERA in 18 innings, allowing 17 hits, 11 runs – seven earned, walked eight and fanned 15 as ERAU hit .246 against it. 
 
Thomas enters with a 1-5 record overall after earning its first victory of the season on Sunday with an 8-1 win over No. 6 Faulkner (NAIA).  Thomas was swept in the season-opener three-game series at Middle Georgia State, but dropped two games in the series by one run each.  Against Faulkner, TU dropped the opener 14-3 and the second game 7-1, before the bats came alive for the 8-1 win in the finale.  
 
The Nighthawks are coached by Tom Fleenor who is in his first season at the program.  He came to Thomas from Lenoir-Rhyne.  He won 150 games there and has coached 26 years in the college ranks with stops at Cleveland State, Ole Miss and USC Upstate.  
 
VSU then will head north to Wingate as the Blazers participated in this traveling tournament last season when it was in Melbourne, Fla.  There, VSU defeated Wingate twice (4-3, 3-1) and dropped a 6-5 decision to Florida Tech.  
 
Wingate enters the week with a 1-2 record and will play at Erskine on Tuesday and host Florida Tech on Thursday, prior to facing VSU Friday afternoon.  The Bulldogs opened the season with an 8-0 win over Concord (W.Va.), but then lost 5-1 and 12-11 to the Mountain Lions in the final two games of the series. 
 
The Bulldogs hit .292 for the series and were led by Mellett McCann, who went 7 of 13 from the plate, scoring six runs with two doubles, one home run and four RBI for a .538 clip.  Ricky Clark went 5 of 11 from the dish (.455) with three runs scored, two doubles, one home run and a team-high six RBI.  
 
Wingate scored 20 runs with 28 hits, nine doubles, two triples, two home runs and 19 RBI, as the team slugged .490 and reached base at a .378 clip with nine walks, but struck out 27 times.  On the mound, Hunter Dula pitched six innings of one-hit baseball in the opener for the lone win as he combined for the shutout with Alex Rodriguez.  Dula walked one and fanned five, surrendering just the one hit.  The staff held a 5.76 ER in 25 innings, allowing 23 hits, 17 runs – 16 earned, walked 12 and fanned 30 as Concord hit .245 against it.  
 
The Bulldogs were picked fourth in the preseason South Atlantic Conference poll and Jed Bryant was named to the preseason All-SAC First Team, while Dula was named to the second team.  Bryant earned first team All-SAC honors last season, while earning All-Region accolades from the D2CCA and the ABCA. He hit .312 with 19 homers and 54 RBI during his sophomore season, scoring 42 runs to go along with eight doubles and two triples. He registered a .658 slugging percentage on the season while adding a pair of stolen bases. Bryant led the SAC and ranked fifth nationally in homers, while also leading the league and ranking 19th in the country with 131 total bases.  
 
Dula was a second team All-SAC reliever, while earning first team All-Region Utility honors from the D2CCA. He picked up two wins and six saves on the season, posting a 2.86 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 22 innings of work. Opponents hit just .218 against Dula, who ranked fifth in the SAC in saves and 12th in appearances. At the plate, Dula hit .257 in 46 games, making 39 starts which included 20 games at first base and 19 as a designated hitter. He had eight doubles, two triples, a homer, 10 RBI and 27 runs scored, while stealing six bases in seven attempts.
 
Florida Tech went 1-2 at home against Lindenwood, losing the first game 6-5 and the last game 12-0, while winning the second game 5-4.  The Panthers will play at Georgia Southwestern on Wednesday, at Wingate on Thursday and versus Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday, before facing VSU on Saturday.  
 
In the three games thus far, Brett Parrish leads the team in hitting at .444 on 4 of 9 with two runs scored, one triple, one home run and three RBI.  Rodnie Bernard is 4 of 12 with two runs scored as the team is hitting .242 for the season.  The Panthers have 22 hits, with five doubles, one triple, one home run, 10 RBI and have scored 10 runs.  
 
On the mound, Alex Carpenter is 1-0 in relief as he pitched 1.2 innings, allowing one hit, walked two and fanned one in the 5-4 victory.  Jake Lane picked up the save in the win.  The Panthers have a 5.25 ERA in 24 innings, allowing 26 hits, 22 runs – 14 earned, walked 20 and fanned 16 as Lindenwood hit .286 against them.  FT has made nine errors already this season leading to eight unearned runs.  
 
The Panthers were picked fifth in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Baseball Poll.  Florida Tech went 29-18 last season and 17-11 in SSC play.  FT raced out to a 6-1 lead through the first three innings of last season's game versus VSU, only to see the Blazers roar back to a 6-5 margin in the eighth inning.  The Blazers had the equalizing run at third and the go ahead run at second with nobody out in the ninth, but a ground out and a double play ended the game.  
 
Palm Beach Atlantic is 1-1 this season and will face Florida Tech Friday at Wingate, prior to facing VSU on Saturday.  PBA upset No. 8-ranked North Greenville 6-5 for its win on Sunday with a five spot in the bottom of the ninth and three-run, walk-off home run from Brandon Seltzer for the victory.  The Sailfish dropped a 9-5 decision to Tusculum in the opener and had a game against St. Thomas (Fla.) postponed.  
 
In the two games, Derek Schwimer and Andreas Papageorge lead the team with four hits each as the team is hitting .351 with 26 hits, 11 runs scored, one double, one triple, one home run and 11 RBI.  The Sailfish have walked six times and fanned 12.  
 
On the mound, Troy Klemm picked up the win in relief on Sunday in 4.2 innings, allowing five hits, one earned run, walked one and fanned two.  The Sailfish have a 6.00 ERA in 18 innings, allowing 21 hits, 14 runs – 12 earned, walked 10 and fanned 17 as teams are hitting .296 against them.  PBA was picked 11^th in the Sunshine State Preseason Poll.  
 
Following the weekend tournament, VSU returns home to open the 2020 Gulf South Conference state, Feb. 15-16 versus Shorter at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park.