VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 19 Valdosta State baseball team hits the road for the second-straight weekend for a three-game series against Montevallo followed by a single game versus Georgia Southwestern. The Montevallo series starts with a sole game Friday at 6 p.m. E.T., with a doubleheader set for Saturday with first pitch at 2 p.m. E.T. The single game slate at Georgia Southwestern is set for 6 p.m.
 
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there will be limited capacity at Kermit A. Johnson Field at Bob Riesener Stadium at Montevallo. All baseball contests at University of Montevallo are limited to 211 fans. Georgia Southwestern encourages all fans to social distance and wear a mask. Check gswcanes.com for more information.
 
The Blazers (8-4, 7-4 Gulf South Conference) are coming off a big three-game series against Shorter where it was able to come away with two wins off the help of strong pitching. A 4-0 win to start of the series, starting pitcher Elijah Gill saw seven innings and only allowed two hits with three walks. Zach Henderson came in to close the game and only gave up two hits with no walks and fanned four. David Maberry added two RBI to his name with two singles to right field to aid the win. After the Blazers dropped the next game to the Hawks, it bounced right back with a 6-5 win that came down to the wire. VSU was in control most of the game as it always had the lead, but an RBI in the bottom of the ninth made it a one-run ball game with no one out. Jakob Barker came in for the save and struck out two of the next three batters and forced a groundout to secure the tight win.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and ticket information for the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.
 
Montevallo enters with a 5-5 overall record and 4-5 in the GSC. The Falcons have won three of its last five games, outscoring its opponents 40-20 with help from an 18-run win Mar. 3 over Tuskegee University. The Falcons have 98 hits on the year where its opponents only have 81 for a +17-hit differential. Montevallo is nearly hitting at a .300 clip as its batting average is .296 on the year with 68 runs where it holds its opponents to a .237 mark and 52 runs. The Falcons average 6.8 runs per game with four homeruns, three triples, 19 doubles, and 34 walks, with an on-base percentage of .394. The Falcons run the pads well as its 25 of 31 on stolen base attempts.
 
The Falcons are led by freshman Ryan Curran who's sporting a .478 batting average for best on the team along with 11 hits with four doubles and five RBI. Junior Riley Cain leads the Falcons offense in hits off his 18 with a team-leading 42 at-bats, with two doubles and one homerun for five runs batted in. Leading the team with 12 runs batted in is freshman Asa Awbrey who's sporting a .282 batting average off his 39 at-bats. The freshman has 11 hits on the season with two doubles, three triples, and one homerun with a .564 slugging percentage.
 
On the bump, the Falcons have a combined 86 strikeouts and allow a batting average of .237 with a 3.84 ERA. Senior Chandler Ingram leads Montevallo with two wins during his six game appearances and 13.0 innings pitched. Ingram has a 1.38 ERA and has allowed seven hits, walked four, and fanned 15 during his 50 batters faced. Sophomore Hogan Isbell is the Falcons leading starter with a record of 1-1 during his three starts. The sophomore has pitched a complete game shutout and has seen 17.1 innings with 14 hits, five walks, and 16 strikeouts.
 
The Hurricanes enter with a 2-5 overall record and 2-4 in the Peach Belt Conference. The Hurricane's pair of wins have come against USC Aiken and Young Harris College where it scored 11 runs in both games. Although it has a losing record, the Hurricanes have outrun its opponents 45-44 for an average of 6.4 runs per game while also outhitting its opposition 57-47. GSW hits at a .244 clip compared to its opponents .226 and have hit 10 balls out-of-the-park with eight doubles and one triple. With an on-base percentage of .363, the Hurricanes have drawn 34 total walks and have been hit by 11 pitches.
 
The Hurricanes are led by sophomore Matthew Mamatas who leads the team with a .333 batting average and is tied for the lead with nine hits. The sophomore has three runs batted in off his 27 at-bats and sports a .357 on-base percentage. Sophomore Gregory Wozniak leads the team with seven RBI off of his team leading five homeruns and a .286 batting average. Reid Ragsdale, another sophomore, has seen the plate the most out of any other Hurricane with 31, where he's tied for the team lead with nine hits and has one double, two homeruns, and five RBI to his name.
 
On the mound, the Hurricanes have a combined 39 strikeouts and with a 4.58 ERA. Redshirt senior Tucker Smith is the Hurricanes leading pitcher with a complete game shutout during its last win over USC Aiken. The pitcher is 1-0 on the year in two starts and has allowed seven hits, five runs – two earned, has fanned 15, and has a 1.29 ERA. Redshirt freshman Aaron Wainright picked up the only other Hurricane win off a five hit, five run outing during six innings pitched. With eight hits allowed on the season, he is 1-1 with 10 runs – seven earned, has walked eight, fanned four, and holds a 5.73 ERA.
 
Out of everyday starters, the Blazers are led by Maberry this season who is hitting a team-best .400 from the dish, good for ninth in the GSC, and leads the team with 15 RBI for fourth in the GSC. Jakob Sessa leads the GSC with his .545 batting average during his 11 at-bats with six hits and one double. Maberry also leads the team with 18 hits while Chase Coker is close behind with 17. Coker rocks a .354 batting average with four doubles and five RBI. Both EJ Doskow and Ben Rowdon have two homeruns on the season to help aid the Blazers six where Doskow sports a .324 average and Rowdon sits with a .286. Rowdon leads the GSC with six doubles off 14 hits and is perfect on the base pads where he is six for six.
 
As a team, the Blazers are hitting .296 on 121 hits off 409 at-bats while scoring 83 runs. The Blazers have knocked down 32 doubles, two triples, six home runs, and 77 RBI.  The team is slugging .428 and reach base at a .394 clip, walked 55 times, hit 13 times, and fanned 93 times. VSU has 14 errors on the year for a .967 fielding percentage.
 
On the bump, VSU boasts a 4.11 ERA in 105 innings with 92 hits allowed with 56 runs – 48 earned, walked 29, and fanned 108. The opposition is hitting .232 against the Blazers with 19 doubles and eight home runs. Senior Zach Blankenship is 2-1 with a 3.44 ERA in 18.1 innings, allowing 14 hits, five walks, and fanning 19. Senior Tristan Cone leads the Blazers with 27 strikeouts during his four appearances and is 1-1 on the year.
 
Nationally speaking, the Blazers are 42^nd with its .296 batting average, second in the nation in doubles, have been walked 55 times which is good for 11^th in the nation, and are tied for 32^nd with its 4.11 ERA. Rowdon is tied for third nationally in doubles while Maberry sits tied for eighth with his 18 hits and is 15^th with 15 RBI.
 
Following the matchups against Montevallo and Georgia Southwestern, VSU will return home to play a weekend series against Union with its first game set for Saturday, Mar. 13, at 1 p.m.