VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a nine-day break, the No. 22 Valdosta State baseball team returns to action with a Tuesday contest at Georgia College and then hosts a three-game, Gulf South Conference series versus Lee beginning Mar. 31.  
 
The Blazers are 18-8 overall and 10-5 in GSC play as they look to avenge a disappointing 5-4 loss to Georgia College at home back on Mar. 7.  GC enters with a 13-14 record overall and a 10-5 mark in the Peach Belt Conference.  The Bobcats went 8-1 since the VSU game, prior to losing two of three at Georgia Southwestern this past weekend.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the Georgia College game at vstateblazers.com.  The series versus Lee will be broadcast on 94.3 WJEM FM with Bill Malone having the call.  
 
Last time out, the Blazers earned their first GSC series sweep of the year Mar. 18-19 at Christian Brothers. VSU outscored the Buccaneers 28-14 and used big hits throughout the series for the victory.  VSU also used a thrilling comeback earlier that week for a 6-3 victory at No. 2 Tampa, highlighted by a three RBI triple from graduate student Jakob Sessa for a 5-2 lead and then an RBI single from senior Bryson Gandy for a 6-2 lead with VSU scoring six runs in the top of the eighth.  Tampa broke a scoreless game in the bottom of the seventh with two runs prior to the six-spot by the Blazers.  
 
Against CBU, the Blazers hit an even .300 on 30 of 100 from the dish, while they recorded three doubles, two triples, four home runs and 27 RBI.  The Blazers went a blistering 22 of 25 on the base paths and earned 23 walks and two hit batters.  Junior Jacob Harper and sophomore Jovanni Canegitta each had six hits, while Canegitta recorded a triple and a home run with a team-high seven RBI.  Senior Zach Henderson tossed a complete game, while senior Kevin Tomas got a victory as did junior Zane Stephens in relief.  VSU held a 2.12 ERA in 25 innings, allowing 28 hits, 14 runs – six earned, walked nine and fanned 22 as CBU hit .267 against it. 
 
The Blazers were unable to hang on to a 4-2 lead through three innings against Georgia College as the Bobcats posted one in the fifth and two in the eighth for the victory.  Trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth, the Blazers put the tying run aboard and junior David Crawford stole second to get into scoring position.  GC retired the next two batters and a ground out ended the Blazers' string of 13-straight midweek victories.  Senior Brandon Raiden took the loss, while Hunter Goodwin earned the win and John Raines garnered the save.  Harper went 2 for 3 with four RBI, a home run and a run scored to lead the Blazers offensively.  Brandon Bellflower was 3 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI for the Bobcats, as he and Jaxson Weatherford had RBI hits in the eighth to tie the game and take the lead – all with two out. 
 
VSU and GC are all square at 4-4 in the past eight meetings.  The Blazers won the last time the teams met in Milledgeville, 15-8 on Apr. 16, 2014.  VSU is 1-1 against GC on the road and 3-3 in Valdosta.  The Blazers lead the all-time series 34-26.  
 
The Bobcats enter after a 14-9 victory at Georgia Southwestern to salvage one victory in the series.  Ben Tuten leads the team hitting .361 with 35 his, 22 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI.  As a team, the Bobcats are hitting .263 for the season with 150 runs scored, 249 hits, 41 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs and 136 RBI.  The team is reaching base at a .346 clip with 97 walks and slugging .389 for the season.  On the mound, GC boasts a 3.80 ERA in 239.1 innings, allowing 228 hits, 137 runs – 101 earned, walked 113 and fanned 234 as teams are hitting .247 against it.  
 
Following the game at GC, the Blazers return home for an eight-game home stand beginning with Lee on Friday at 5 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. 
 
The Flames enter the week with a 16-14 record overall and a 7-8 mark in the GSC.  Lee is scheduled for a midweek game at Tusculum (19-13) Tuesday.  Lee dropped two of three at home versus Mississippi College last weekend and two of three the previous weekend at West Alabama.  Lee was picked second in the GSC preseason coaches' poll, while VSU was picked fourth. 
 
Lee leads the all-time series with VSU 13-7, but VSU won both meetings last season in Cleveland, Tenn., marking the first series victory for VSU all-time.  Prior to that, Lee had won eight-straight and 12 of 14.  
 
For the season, the Flames are hitting .289 with 278 hits, 232 runs scored, 51 doubles, six triples, 53 home runs and 208 RBI.  The team is slugging .519 and reaching base at a .388 clip with 129 walks and 35 hit batsmen.  Lee is 51 of 63 in stolen bases and has a .965 fielding percentage with 36 errors.  The Flames have three players hitting over .300 this season led by Brandon Daniels at a .365 clip on 38 of 104 from the dish.  He leads the team with 31 runs scored, while he is second in hits with 38 and leads the team with nine home runs.  Daniels has walked 16 times for third on the team and is 10 of 12 in stolen bases.  Cam Suto is second in average at a .342 clip with a team-high 39 hits, 29 runs scored, seven doubles, three triples and seven home runs.  He is slugging .640 and has drawn 12 walks and hit five times for a .424 on base clip. 
 
On the bump, Jack Nedrow is 4-1 with a 4.19 ERA in 38.2 innings of work.  He has allowed 28 hits, 20 runs – 18 earned, walked 13 and fanned 40 as teams are hitting .204 against him.  Cameron Land is 2-2 with a 5.31 ERA in 39 innings, allowing 42 hits, 32 runs – 23 earned, walked 11 and fanned 21.  Sam Fulton is the third main starter with a 7.20 ERA and a 4-1 record in 40 innings of work.  He has allowed 39 hits, 33 runs – 32 earned, walked 15 and fanned a team-high 46.  As a staff, Lee boasts a 5.78 ERA in 244.1 innings, allowing 241 hits, 192 runs – 157 earned, walked 114 and fanned 232 as teams are hitting .260 against it. 
 
Entering the final week of March, Montevallo has a 12-3 mark in league play and a 24-5 record overall to lead the league, while VSU and West Georgia both are 10-5 in league play.  Delta State sits one game back at 9-6, followed by West Alabama at 10-8.  
 
Check back to vstateblazers.com later in the week for national rankings.  
 
This season, the Blazers are 12^th nationally and tops in the GSC in triples with 11, while the team is third in the GSC in complete games (3 / 27^th), third in ERA (3.98 / 29^th), third in stolen bases per game (1.92 / 54^th) and third in strikeout-to-walk ratio at a 2.19 clip for 54^th nationally.  VSU also is third in WHIP at 1.41 for 42^nd nationally.  Individually, Henderson is ninth nationally in complete games (3) for third in the league, while he is sixth nationally in ERA at a 0.98 clip for tops in the GSC.  Offensively, graduate student JP Gates is fifth in the league in hits with 43 for 49^th nationally, while he is third in the league in hits per game (1.65) for 40^th nationally.  Sessa leads the GSC with four triples for fifth nationally.  
 
Gates, who had a 12-game hitting streak earlier in the year, is on a seven-game streak currently, while he leads the team with 14 multi-hit games this season and seven multi-RBI games.  Graduate student Nick Gonzalez has reached base safely in nine-straight games currently, as has Gandy.  Gates leads the team hitting .410 for the season for fifth in the GSC on 43 of 105.  Gandy leads the team with six round-trippers, while Gates has a team-high nine doubles for eighth in the GSC.  The Blazers are hitting .271 for the season with 171 runs scored, 230 hits, 36 doubles, 11 triples, 20 home runs and 151 RBI.  VSU is slugging .410 sixth in the league, while it is reaching base at a .368 clip with 103 walks and 34 hit batsmen.  
 
On the hill, VSU boasts a 3.90 ERA in 221.1 innings of work.  The team has allowed 227 hits, 123 runs – 96 earned, walked 83 and fanned 182 as teams are hitting .259 against it.  VSU has 37 errors on the year for a .960 fielding percentage.