VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 22 Valdosta State baseball team travels to No. 2 Tampa for a midweek game Tuesday at 5 p.m., and then the Blazers will travel to Christian Brothers for a three-game Gulf South Conference series, beginning Friday, Mar. 17 at 3 p.m. ET with a single game, followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
 
VSU is coming off a disappointing 1-2 weekend in the Red Clay Rivalry versus West Georgia.  The No. 15-ranked Wolves won the rubber-match Sunday 17-13 in a game with a combined 40 hits and 30 runs scored.  VSU went 1-3 for the week last week, losing in its first midweek game since 2021 in a 5-4 home loss to Georgia College on Tuesday.  The Blazers enter this week at 14-8 overall and 7-5 in Gulf South Conference play. 
 
The Blazers are tied for third in the league standings with West Alabama, while Montevallo leads the league with a 7-2 record and West Georgia is second at 9-3.  Christian Brothers enters the week with a 9-14 record overall and a 2-10 mark in league play.  Tampa is 17-3 overall and a perfect 6-0 in Sunshine State Conference action.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the games this week at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.  Check back with the site following the games for complete recaps and stats. 
 
The Blazers were led by graduate student JP Gates who hit 7 of 14 from the plate with three runs scored, one double and one RBI.  He also was 1-0 on the mound in 3.1 innings of work, allowing two hits and fanning four as the opposition hit just .167 against him.  As a team, VSU hit .271 for the week, with 24 runs scored on 36 hits with five doubles, two triples, three home runs and 20 RBI.  The team slugged .406 and reached base at a .380 clip with 20 walks and four hit batsmen. VSU was 4 of 5 on the base paths and had six errors leading to one unearned run.
 
The staff pitched 34 innings, allowing 49 hits, 30 runs scored – 29 earned, walked four and fanned 27 as the teams hit .343 against it.  Gates was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 3.1 innings of work, allowing two hits and fanned four.  Both senior Zach Henderson and sophomore Zach Dodson had strong outings, but didn't factor into decisions.  Dodson pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, walked none and fanned five, while Henderson pitched 3.2 innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, walked one and fanned three. 
 
Tampa enters winners of five-straight, including a home sweep of Embry-Riddle this past weekend as it outscored he Eagles 33-7.  The Spartans are led offensively by EJ Cumbo who is 33 of 78 from the dish for a .483 average, while he has scored 20 runs with six doubles, one triple, three home run and 18 RBI.  EJ Doskow is second in average at a .384 clip on 28 of 73 from the plate with 20 runs scored, seven doubles and a team-high five home runs, while driving in 17.  Tampa has eight players hitting over .300 for the season, playing in nine or more games.  JD Urso leads the team with 30 hits, 12 doubles and 28 RBI.  As a team, Tampa is hitting .338 for the season with 157 runs scored, 238 hits, 54 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs while driving in 144.  On the bump, the Spartans boast a 2.88 ERA in 184.2 innings of work, while they have five saves.  Tampa has allowed 148 hits, 70 runs – 59 earned, walked 66 and fanned 194 for an average of 9.45 strikeouts per nine innings.
 
Tampa remained the top team in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) South Region top ten this week, while Montevallo held steady at second.  Florida Southern moved up from fifth to tie for third with West Georgia, while Rollins moved from sixth to fifth.  VSU fell from fourth to sixth, followed by Florida Tech, Albany State, Lee and Barry.  Both Lee and Barry were receiving votes last week.  The newest national top 25 is scheduled to be announced Wednesday. 
 
The Spartans lead the all-time series 34-22 and won the last meeting in the NCAA South Regional on May 21, 2022, at Tampa, 9-3. VSU has won four of the last six in the series, including an 8-3 victory on Mar. 20, 2019, also in Tampa when the Spartans were ranked No. 1 nationally. 
 
Christian Brothers is scheduled to play at Bethel (Tenn.) on Tuesday and at home versus LeMoyne-Owen on Wednesday, before entertaining the Blazers this weekend.  This season, Ben Brocato leads the team hitting .440 in 23 starts.  He is 40 of 91 from the dish with eight doubles, six home runs, 27 runs scored and 31 RBI.  Dalton Pyzer is second in average at a .329 clip with 27 hits, ten runs scored, seven doubles, two triples, four home runs and 27 RBI.  Jarret Fowlkes leads the team in stolen bases on 11 of 12 for the season.  As  team, CBU is hitting .285 with 163 runs scored, 212 hits, 37 doubles, five triples, 12 home runs and 147 RBI.  The team is slugging .396 and reaching base at a .403 clip.
 
On the mound, the Buccaneers have a 7.57 ERA in 186.2 innings of work.  CBU has allowed 240 hits, with 189 runs allowed – 157 earned, walked 103 and fanned 154 as teams are hitting .306 against it. Jackson Sleeper is 2-4 with a 7.46 ERA in six starts for 25.1 innings.  Travis Cole has a team-high 32 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work.  Jack Staples is 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA in 10.1 innings of work. 
 
VSU leads the all-time series with CBU at 22-4.  The Buccaneers won the series in Valdosta last season, winning two of three.  VSU had won eight-straight prior to CBU's 13-12 victory last season in ten innings and had never dropped a series to the Bucs before.  The Blazers are 10-1 all-time in Memphis against CBU.