VALDOSTA, Ga - The Valdosta State baseball team will hit the road for a weekend matchup against Christian Brothers, set for 12 p.m. ET Saturday, Apr. 24, followed by a 1 p.m. ET first pitch on Sunday.
 
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there will be limited capacity at Nadicksbernd Field at Christian Brothers University. Capacity is limited to two (2) family members of each CBU student-athlete/coach. No visiting fans are allowed in the stands. Visiting fans are allowed to park their cars outside of the left field fence and watch the matchup from there. For more information regarding Christian Brothers COVID-19 Policy, click the link to the right of this story.
 
The Blazers (20-12, 18-11 Gulf South Conference) are coming off a series sweep against West Georgia to extend its win streak to six games, dating back to Apr. 11. VSU came away with 22 runs off 36 hits, highlighted by an 11-3 victory in the middle game. VSU saw freshman Jacob Harper hit a walk-off single during game one of the series for a 7-6 victory marking, the Blazers third walk off in its past four games. The Blazers dominated in game one of the doubleheader Monday, crossing 11 runners across the plate while holding UWG to three. In the series finale , VSU was able to get its first hit in the fourth inning, which created enough momentum to score four runs. It was a defensive battle from there as neither team was able to put another one on the board, giving the advantage to VSU to sweep the Wolves with the 4-3 victory in the finale.
 
Christian Brothers enters with a 5-27 record overall and sit at the bottom of the GSC with a 3-26 record. The Bucs only came away with one win during its three-game series against Union, taking game two of the doubleheader 4-3. The Bucs got outscored 22-11 where it also had a hit differential of -11 with 19 hits compared to 30 for Union. The Bucs finished its weekend series with a 12-2 loss in eight innings, only recording two hits.
 
The Bucs are led by sophomore J.D. Goodspeed who sits at a .263 batting average with 25 hits and six RBI. He has six doubles on the season during his 95 at-bats with one homerun. Leading the Bucs in the RBI column is junior Luke Wewers, who has batted in 11 runners. He hits at a .214 clip with 18 base knocks, five doubles, along with one home run. Junior outfielder Keaga Voss has seen the plate the most out of his teammates with 119 at bats and started in all 31 contests. He hits at a .244 clip for third-best on the team with a team high of 29 hits for four runners batted in. He's hit the most doubles with eight and has seven stolen bases off 11 attempts.
 
On the bump, the Bucs have a combined 235 strikeouts and allow a batting average of .296 with a 6.20 ERA. Junior Blake Dallas leads CBU starting pitchers with a 4.25 ERA in the 59.1 innings he's seen. He's started in ten games and has given up 65 hits, 40 runs – 28 earned, with 26 walks and a team high 64 strikeouts. Dallas holds an overall record of 1-6 with an opponent batting average of .285. Junior Jonathan Baldelli leads the team with two wins for a 2-7 record, posting a stat line of 72 hits allowed, 43 runs – 35 earned, 26 walks and 40 strikeouts. The junior has seen the most innings with 63.1 while allowing the opposition to hit at a .290 clip. As a whole, the pitching core has let up 321 hits and 229 runs – 187 earned.
 
As a team, the Bucs are hitting .223 off of 1045 at-bats and have 233 hits for last in the GSC. Christian Brothers has scored 115 runs on the year with 50 doubles, three triples, eight home runs for 94 RBI. The Bucs have forced 97 walks while being fanned 306 times.
 
Among everyday starters, the Blazers are led by Nick Lewis who is hitting .390 from the dish, good for sixth in the GSC. Lewis also leads the team with 46 hits for seventh in the GSC and 47th in the nation. He has 14 doubles on the year for seventh nationally and third in the GSC. Right behind Lewis is David Maberry with 44 hits off 121 at-bats for a .364 batting average. Maberry is tied for the team lead with EJ Doskow with six home runs, while Maberry leads the team with 37 RBI. Ben Rowdon continues his success on the base paths where he is 25th in the nation with 15 stolen bases.
 
As a team, the Blazers are second in the league hitting .304 on 335 of 1103 from the plate, while scoring 236 runs for 34th in the nation and fourth in the GSC. The Blazers have recorded 70 doubles, seven triples, 24 home runs and 211 RBI. The team is slugging .445 and reach base at a .399 clip and has walked 145 times, hit 41 times and fanned 234 times. VSU has 41 errors on the year for a .965 fielding percentage.
 
On the bump, VSU holds a 4.33 ERA in 280.2 innings for fifth in the league. The Blazers have allowed 295 hits, 170 runs – 135 earned, walked 96 and fanned 302. The opposition is hitting .271 against the Blazers with 55 doubles and 22 home runs. Senior Tristan Cone leads VSU starting pitchers with a 5-3 record with a 4.02 ERA in 56.2 innings with 59 strikeouts. Cone has allowed 60 hits and has walked just 15 batters. Elijah Gill leads the team with his 75 strikeouts while holding an overall record of 2-3. He has allowed 52 hits with 31 runs – 25 earned, for a 4.02 ERA.
 
Following the series versus Christian Brothers, VSU will finish its regular season on the road with a weekend series against Alabama Huntsville May 1-2.