VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 19/22 Valdosta State baseball team returns to the road this weekend as it travels to Alabama Huntsville for a three-game, Gulf South Conference series.  The Blazers and the Chargers are set for a 4 p.m. ET first pitch on Friday for a single game, followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.  Check back following each game for a complete recap and stats.  
 
Heading into the weekend, VSU and Montevallo are tied for the league-lead in the GSC standings as both teams are 14-7.  West Georgia, West Florida and Alabama Huntsville sit one game back at 13-8, while Shorter is 12-11, West Alabama is 12-12 and Delta State is 10-10 among teams .500 or better.  
 
VSU is No. 22 this week in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 25, while it sits third in the newest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) South Region poll and is No. 19 in the NCBWA Top 25.  Tampa leads the NCBWA South Region Poll, followed by Rollins, VSU, Montevallo, Florida Southern, West Florida, Albany State, Alabama Huntsville and Saint Leo is tenth.  Tampa sits third in the NCBWA Top 25, while Rollins is sixth and VSU sits 19^th.  Montevallo is 24^th, while Florida Southern is among others receiving votes for teams in the South Region.  In the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 25, Tampa is fifth, Montevallo is 13^th, while VSU sits 22^nd followed by Florida Southern at 24^th and West Georgia at 30^th.  West Florida is among others receiving votes.  
 
The Blazers are coming off an 11-3 victory on Tuesday over Georgia Southwestern to sweep the season series.  The Hurricanes won two of three last weekend over then-No. 10 Columbus State and defeated then-No. 15 West Georgia in a midweek game last week.  In the game Tuesday, the Blazers scored two runs in the bottom of the second and then posted a combined seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take command of the game and a 9-2 lead through six innings.  VSU added two more runs in the final three innings for the 11-3 final.  
 
For the game, VSU scored 11 runs on nine hits with three errors, while GSW had three runs on seven hits and one error.  Senior Brandon Raiden (2-1) earned the win in relief, going two innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, walked none and fanned two.  Graduate student Jakob Sessa finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored, while senior Bryson Gandy was 2 for 3 with three runs scored, one RBI and a walk earning Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Game honors.
 
UAH lost 5-3 Trevecca Nazarene on Wednesday and stand at 22-16 overall this season, while it is 11-8 at home.  Last weekend, UAH swept a three-game series at Christian Brothers, outscoring the Buccaneers 26-12.  
 
The Chargers lead the all-time series with VSU 43-38 and are 20-17 all-time in Huntsville against the Blazers.  The teams went 2-2 last season as VSU won the season series in Valdosta, 2-1, while UAH won a neutral site contest in the conference tournament in Oxford, Ala., 7-3.  UAH won two of three in Huntsville in 2021 and swept the season series there in 2019.  VSU went 2-1 at UAH in 2017 as the last time it won a road series against the Chargers. 
 
Entering the week, the Chargers are third in the GSC in hits with 371 for 47^th nationally, while they are third in the league in batting average at a .315 clip for 49^th nationally. UAH is third in the league in on base percentage at a 415 clip for 48^thnationally, while it is third in the league in sacrifice bunts with 20 and eighth nationally in sacrifice flies with 27.  
 
Individually, Landon Ezzell is second in the league in batting average at a .445 clip for 14^th nationally, while he is fifth in the league in doubles with 12 and eighth nationally in hits with 65 to lead the league.  Ezzell is fourth in the league in slugging percentage at a .671 clip, while he is third in the league in total bases with 98 for 32^nd nationally.  He is second in the league in toughest to strikeout at 20.9 at bats per strikeout for 13^th nationally.  
 
On the bump the Chargers boast a 5.27 ERA for seventh in the league and are sixth in the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio at a 1.84 clip, while averaging 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings.  Will Hotalen leads the team with a 2.06 ERA for third in the GSC and 27^th nationally.  He leads the GSC in hits allowed per nine innings at 6.41 for 32^nd nationally, while he is third in the GSC in saves with four for 44^th nationally.  Hotalen is 5-1 on the year in 39.1 innings pitched.  
 
Blazer graduate student JP Gates was named Gulf South Conference Pitcher of the Week and earned NCBWA South Region Pitcher of the Week honors.  Gates a native of Brookfield, Fla., continued his outstanding season for the Blazers as she went 1-0 in two relief appearances last week with a 1.12 ERA.  He pitched a team-high eight innings, allowing six hits, two runs (one earned) walked two and fanned a team-high 11 as opponents hit .222 against him.  The lefty opened the week by tossing two innings against No. 2 Tampa in a thrilling 15-14, 11-inning victory.  He then pitched a six-inning relief effort against West Alabama, striking out 10 of21 batters faced, while surrendering just one unearned run on two hits as he improved to 4-0 on the year. 
 
This is the first weekly honor of the season for Gates for GSC Player of the Week and the same for NCBWA Region POW.  It also marked the first weekly honor of the season in both for the Blazers.  Gates will move onto the national ballot for NCBWA Pitcher of the Week.  Gates marks VSU's first regional winner since former Blazer Zach Blankenship earned the honor on Feb. 21, 2021 and is the sixth different Blazer since 2011 to earn the honor.  
 
Gates leads the Blazers this season in hitting with a .397 clip (fourth in the GSC) on 52 of 131 from the dish.  He has a team-high ten doubles, along with 32 runs scored to tie for the team-lead.  Gates has hit four home runs and driven in 25.  He is slugging .565 and reaching base at a .463 clip with eight walks and he has been hit eight times.  Sessa is second in average at a .374 clip on 34 of 91, while he has scored 21 runs with two doubles a team-high four triples, two home runs and 16 RBI.  He is slugging .549 on the year, while he has walked four times and been hit by pitches four times for a .416 on base clip.  Sessa's four triples ranks him 15^th nationally and tops in the GSC.  
 
As a team, the Blazers are hitting .277 for the season with 303 hits, 235 runs scored, 49 doubles, 11 triples (lead the GSC), 26 home runs and 205 RBI.  The team is slugging .414 and reaching base at a .383 clip with 146 walks and been hit 51 times.  VSU is 63 of 84 in stolen bases.  
 
On the mound, senior Zach Henderson is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA which the ERA is good for second nationally and tops in the GSC. He has pitched 47 innings in 12 appearances and six starts, along with four complete games, two shutouts and one save.  He has allowed 37 hits, 12 runs – five earned, walked 16 and fanned 32 as teams are hitting .209 against him.  Senior Kevin Tomas is 4-2 with a 3.75 ERA in a team-high 50.1 innings.  He has allowed 49 hits, 24 runs – 21 earned, walked eight and fanned a team-high 38.  Gates is 4-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 28 innings of work in 10 appearances.  He has struck out 32 and allowed 24 hits with 13 runs – eight earned and walked 15.  
 
The Blazers boast a 4.03 ERA, while is second-best in the GSC and 22^nd nationally.  The team has pitched 290.1 innings, allowing 303 hits, 166 runs – 130 earned, walked 104 and fanned 235 as teams are hitting .264 against it.  
 
Following the series at UAH, the Blazers return home to host Saint Leo on Apr. 18 at 5 p.m. at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park, before heading back on the road at Auburn Montgomery, Apr. 21-22.