VALDOSTA, Ga - The No. 25 Valdosta State baseball team finishes the regular season on the road for a weekend matchup against Alabama Huntsville, set for 2 p.m. ET Saturday, May 1, followed by a 2 p.m. ET first pitch on Sunday.
 
Charger Park will accommodate fans with social distancing measures in place. Fans will be asked to practice social distancing and sit in available seats. Masks are required at all times per UAH regulations. For more information regarding Alabama Huntsville COVID-19 Policy, click the link to the right of this story.
 
The Blazers (23-12, 21-11 Gulf South Conference) remain on the road after its weekend sweep against Christian Brothers to extend its win streak to nine games, having swept its last three matchups. VSU came away with 21 runs off 38 hits, where Christian Brothers scored 12 runs off 29 hits. The Blazers and the Bucs battled during game one and three of the series as Logan Stephens hit a clutch double in the eighth inning of game one to give the Blazers the 6-5 win. In game three, Jakob Sessa came away with three RBI as the Blazers looked to be in control up 9-1 after the sixth, but the Bucs were able to come back and make it 9-7 after eight. Jakob Barker came in for the save opportunity and was able to take care of business, fanning two batters with no hits to get his sixth save of the year and the VSU win.
 
With the wins last week, VSU clinched a spot in the GSC Championship Tournament. The first round will be held at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama from May 7-11 and will feature eight teams in bracket play to determine two finalists. The second round will be a best-of-3 series between the two finalists hosted by the better seed on May 18-20.
 
After the weekend series, the Blazers jumped into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25. The Blazers sit at No. 25 and are back in the rankings since Mar. 10. VSU is one of three GSC schools in the top 25 where Lee sits at No. 2 while West Florida ranks No. 17. Shorter received votes in the poll as well.
 
Alabama Huntsville enters with a 17-15 record overall and sit sixth in the GSC with a 14-13 record. An important weekend for the Chargers as it has yet to clinch a berth in the GSC Championship Tournament. The Chargers have won four of its last five games, beating three different opponents doing so. Its recent matchup came against West Alabama on Apr. 27 where they squeaked out a 14-13 win, recording 15 hits. Its sole loss came from Delta State by a final score of 10-0, but the Chargers got the better of the Statesmen where it took game one 11-9, and game three 5-0.
 
The Chargers are led by redshirt sophomore Garrett Bodine who sits at a .357 batting average with a team high 40 hits and 18 RBI. The redshirt has six doubles on the season during his 112 at-bats with five triples and two homeruns. Bodine also leads the team in the stolen base category where he's stolen 11 off 13 attempts. At the top with 21 RBI for the Chargers is redshirt sophomore Colin Brewer who sits fourth on the team with a .321 batting average. He has knocked down 34 hits, including nine doubles and two homeruns for a .351 on-base percentage. Infielder Zach Duvall ranks second on the team in hits with 38 along with RBI with 20. He's played in all but one game this season and has the most homeruns on the team with six, along with five doubles and two triples.
 
On the bump, the Chargers have a combined 249 strikeouts and allow a batting average of .284 with a 5.84 ERA. Redshirt junior Tyler Self is the only pitcher who's started more than 10 games and sits with a 6.53 ERA in 51.0 innings. Self has given up 75 hits, 44 runs – 37 earned, with just nine walks and a team high 50 strikeouts. The junior holds an overall record of 3-6 with an opponent batting average of .350. Leading the clubhouse with four wins is redshirt junior Dylan Murphy with an overall record of 4-3 in his six starts in nine appearances. Murphy holds an ERA of 4.50 off 26 runs – 18 earned, off 31 hits with 35 strikeouts for a .221 batting average. Redshirt junior Parker Henson sits atop of the Chargers with his 2.70 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched, allowing eight hits and four runs – four earned, for a .174 opponent batting average. As a whole, the pitching core has let up 312 hits and 216 runs – 178 earned.
 
As a team, the Chargers are hitting .293 off 1109 at-bats and have 325 hits for eighth in the GSC. Alabama Huntsville has scored 216 runs on the year with 68 doubles, 11 triples, and 27 homeruns for 195 RBI. The Chargers have forced 118 walks while being fanned 231 times.
 
Among everyday starters, the Blazers are led by Nick Lewis who is hitting .411 from the dish, good for third in the GSC. Lewis also leads the team with 53 hits which is good for eighth in the GSC and 30th in the nation. He has 16 doubles on the year for best on the team, second in the GSC, and sixth in the nation. Behind Lewis is Ben Rowdon with 46 hits off 142 at-bats, good for a .324 batting average. Rowdon is the only Blazer to have seen all 35 games this season and sits second on the team with 12 doubles. Rowdon has hit two homeruns for 17 RBI and leads the team with 15 stolen bases, good for 44^th in the nation and third in the GSC. David Maberry and EJ Doskow lead the team with six homeruns each as both are hitting above a .300 batting average. Maberry sits with a .364 average off 44 hits with 37 RBI while Doskow sports a .306 average off 30 hits.
 
As a team, the Blazers are second in the league hitting .307 on 373 of 1214 from the plate, while scoring 257 runs for 38th in the nation and fifth in the GSC. The Blazers have knocked down 75 doubles, seven triples, 27 homeruns and 229 RBI. The team is slugging .447 and reach base at a .400 clip, have been walked 156 times, hit 45 times and fanned 246 times. VSU has 45 errors on the year for a .965 fielding percentage.
 
On the bump, VSU holds a 4.18 ERA in 307.2 innings for fourth best in the league. The Blazers have allowed 324 hits, 182 runs – 143 earned, walked 108 and fanned 332. The opposition is hitting .271 against the Blazers with 57 doubles and 22 homeruns. Senior Tristan Cone leads VSU starting pitchers with a 6-3 record with a 4.55 ERA in 63.1 innings with 67 strikeouts. Cone has allowed 68 hits and has walked just 17 batters. Elijah Gill leads the team with his 82 strikeouts while holding an overall record of 2-3. He has allowed 57 hits with 36 runs – 29 earned, for a 4.35 ERA.
 
After the weekend series, the Blazers will prepare for the GSC Championship Tournament set for May 7-11 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and ticket information for the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.