VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a season-opening series victory over Embry-Riddle, the Valdosta State baseball team travels to Daytona Beach, Fla., for the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Clash.  The Blazers will face Florida Tech twice and Embry-Riddle once in the tournament.
 
The Blazers and Florida Tech are scheduled for a 5 p.m., first pitch on Friday, Feb. 10, while ERAU and VSU will meet Saturday at 1 p.m., and VSU will battle Florida Tech in a second matchup between the two teams on Sunday at 3 p.m.  Fans can access links to live stats and streaming at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.
 
VSU swept a doubleheader with ERAU on Saturday with a 10-3 victory in the opener and a 3-1 victory in the nightcap to win the series.  ERAU won the opener on Friday 10-6.  For the series, junior Jacob Harper hit .625 on 5 of 8 from the dish with one run scored, two doubles and drove in four, while graduate student Jakob Sessa hit 5 for 12 for a .417 average, with three runs scored and one RBI.  Junior David Crawford went 4 of 12 from the dish with a team-high five runs scored, one double, one triple and one RBI.  VSU hit .274 for the series with 26 hits, 19 runs scored, seven doubles, two triples, one home run and drove in 14.  The Blazers went 6 of 9 in stolen bases.  
 
On the bump, senior Kevin Tomas went 5.2 innings with a 1.59 ERA, allowing three hits, two runs – one earned, walked one and fanned four in the no decision on Friday.  Graduate student JP Gates, who pitches and also hits, went 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 3.1 innings, allowing two hits, one earned run, walked five and fanned three.  Freshman Anthony Martens wen 1-0 in one inning of work, allowing two hits and walked one.  As a staff, VSU boasted a 2.88 ERA for the series with one save from senior Zach Henderson.  The team allowed 26 hits, 14 runs – eight earned, walked 12 and fanned 24 as ERAU hit .255 against it.  
 
ERAU was led by Timo Aracena who went 5 of 11 from the dish with a double and five RBI, while three different players each had four hits.  The Eagles had 26 hits, 14 runs scored, six doubles and drove in 13 for the series.  Tyler Stufano earned the win for ERAU in the opener, going five innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs, walked two and fanned three.  Gunnar Harrison earned the save in four innings of work, surrendering three hits and three unearned runs, while walking two and fanning three.
 
VSU leads the series with ERAU 14-5 since Apr. 19, 2000.  The Blazers won two of three games in Daytona Beach to open the 2022 season and have won 10 of the last 13 overall.  The Blazers have won five of seven in Daytona Beach.
 
Florida Tech enters with a 2-2 record overall and won two of three over No. 12 Wingate, while dropping a 4-1 decision to No. 10 Rollins in the season-opener on Feb. 1.  Gabe Garrett leads the team with a .353 average after he went 6 of 17 from the dish in the first four games with five runs scored, one double and four RBI.  Cole Patrick is second in average at a .333 clip on 3 of 9 with three runs scored, one double, one home run and three RBI.  He is slugging a team-best .778.  The Panthers are hitting .187 for the season with 25 hits, 18 runs scored, three doubles, one home run and 14 RBI.  Tyler Vermillion and Ridge Skarbek each have victories in relief, while Dylan Cleveland (0-1) and Mitch Harding (0-1) each have a team-high six strikeouts. 
 
VSU leads the all-time series with Florida Tech 9-8-1 and won the last meeting 10-4 in Wingate, N.C., on Feb. 7, 2020.  The Panthers won 6-5 in Melbourne, Fla., on Feb. 8, 2019.  The teams have split the last ten matchups.  VSU is 2-0 against the Panthers in neutral site contests.  The Panthers were picked seventh in the SSC Preseason Coaches Poll.  Head coach Jeff Tam is in his second season at the helm of the Panthers as he was an assistant coach since 2019, before being elevated to head coach in December, 2021. 
 
Following the tournament this weekend, VSU returns home to host Albany State on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park, before opening Gulf South Conference play Feb. 17-18 at home against Mississippi College.