VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 19 Valdosta State baseball team will hit the road Tuesday, Feb. 23, to face off against the Flagler Saints with first pitch set for 5 p.m.
 
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there will be limited capacity at Flagler's Athletic Complex. Attendance for Flagler home baseball contests is limited to 50 fans, all of which must be listed on the Flagler family pass list for student-athletes. Attendance is limited to ONLY Flagler baseball parents.
 
The Blazers (5-3, 5-3 Gulf South Conference) dropped one game this past weekend to Auburn Montgomery but bounced back during its doubleheader the following day which included an eight-run extra inning comeback and a one hit shutout the following game. The Blazers were down by eight in the seventh but were able to claw back with help from four Blazers to score five runs. VSU tied it up in the ninth to force extras and won in the bottom of the 11^th off a walk-off walk. Zach Blankenship threw a near perfect game during game two where he only allowed one hit and one walk during his complete game shutout. Ben Rowdon highlighted the Blazers during that game as well, going four for four with 4 RBI and a homerun.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and ticket information for the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page. Please call 229-333-SEAT for more information on purchasing tickets.
 
Flagler enters winless with a 0-5 overall record and 0-2 in its conference. The Saints have been outscored 34-20 during that span and have been outhit 49-39.
 
The Saints are led by senior Adam Mitchell who's sporting a .381 batting average and leads the team in hits with eight with one double, one triple, and an RBI. Junior Chase Carney leads the Saints with five RBI off four hits and one double.
 
On the bump, the Saints have a combined 55 strikeouts and allow a batting average of .274 with a 6.00 ERA. Redshirt junior Nathan Henderson has started in two games and leads the Saints in opponent batting average with .150 with a 3.00 ERA. Henderson has allowed three hits during his six innings pitched with four walks and eight strikeouts. Also on the mound is senior Kyle Morton who leads the team with eight innings pitched with a 3.38 ERA. 0-2 on the year, the senior has faced 30 batters for a .233 batting average and leads the team with 10 strikeouts.
 
As a team, the Saints are hitting .228 off of 171 at-bats. The team has 39 hits and have scored 20 runs with six doubles and 18 RBI. The Saints are perfect on the base pads where it's six for six on stolen base attempts.
 
The Blazers are led by Ralph Morla Jr. this season who is hitting a team-best .438 from the dish, good for seventh in the GSC. Leading the Blazers in hits is Chase Coker with 13 which is good for seventh in the GSC and Rowdon is right behind with 12, tied for eighth in the conference. Coker has three doubles along with a triple for four RBI with a .529 slugging percentage. David Maberry leads the team in runs batted in with 12, good for second in the GSC, as he is sporting a .379 batting average off 11 hits, three doubles, and a homerun.
 
As a team, the Blazers are hitting .332 on 92 hits off 227 at-bats while scoring 66 runs. The Blazers have knocked down 28 doubles, two triples, four home runs, and 60 RBI.  The team is slugging .491 and reach base at a .434 clip, walked 44 times, hit eight times, and fanned 54 times. VSU has 12 errors on the year for a .957 fielding percentage.
 
On the bump, VSU boasts a 4.11 ERA in 70 innings with 63 hits allowed with 40 runs – 32 earned, walked 21, and fanned 81.  The opposition is hitting .235 against the Blazers with 13 doubles and four home runs.  Senior Zach Blankenship is 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in 13.0 innings, allowing 12 hits, four walks, and fanning 16. Senior Tristan Cone leads the Blazers with 21 strikeouts during his three appearances.
 
Following the game versus Flagler, VSU hits the road to face Shorter with a doubleheader set for Friday, Feb. 26, with first pitch at 11 a.m. and a single game Saturday with first pitch at noon.