VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Blazer baseball team will play their first road weekend series, as they head to Cleveland, Tenn. to take on the Lee University Flames. Valdosta State is entering this GSC matchup with a 6-3 (1-2 GSC) record, while Lee is carrying an 8-4 (2-1 GSC) record heading into the weekend matchup. Game one will start at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 23, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 24 with the first game starting at 1 p.m. ET.
 
The Blazers are coming off a thrilling 11-9 victory over no. 13 ranked Quincy on Tuesday night in Valdosta, Ga. Sophomore Dennis Pierce had yet another strong outing, going one for two with two walks drawn. His lone hit came in the bottom of the fifth, where the slugger hit a bases clearing triple down the left field line to grow the VSU lead early. Some defensive miscues led to ten unearned for the Hawks for the night. Junior JJ Finn came in during the top of the eighth with two outs, and recorded a four out save for the first Valdosta State save of the season.
 
For VSU, they are led in offense by Dennis Pierce, who is hitting .467 on the season, good for third in the GSC. He also has a team high RBIs with 15, which is tied for fifth in the GSC. Other than Pierce, senior Ryan Romano has been on a tear as of late, batting .600 over his last three game with an on base percentage of .533 on the season good for second on the team. On the bump, JJ Finn has been flat out dominant, as the tall righty from Ocala, Fla. has an ERA of 0.00, which is first in the GSC and tops in the country for qualified pitchers. On the year, Finn has allowed a total of five hits and holding opponents to a .139 batting average.
 
The Flames host the Blazers having won two straight and are 6-3 at home this season. In Gulf South Conference play, Lee is 2-1 after they took two road games versus Shorter this past weekend in Rome, Ga. LU has hit a total of 16 home runs as a team, as they have five players with two or more homers. Graduate student Brandon Daniels has been playing exceptional early. The outfielder is batting .457 in 12 starts, as he has five doubles and has driven in 14 runners, which leads the team. Junior Jack Nedrow has been dealing for the Flames early. The righty from Murfreesboro, Tenn. is 3-0 on the season in three starts. He has struck out 23 batters, which is third in the GSC. Lee is led by longtime head coach Mark Brew. In his 18^th season, Brew has a career record of 667-290-2.
 
Following this weekend road trip, the Blazers will head down to the Sunshine State to face Saint Leo on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m. before playing host to the Union Bulldogs next weekend.