VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Blazer baseball team will make the trek to Livingston, Ala. to face the Tigers of West Alabama starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 9 with first pitch being at 2 p.m. ET. Game two will follow 30 minutes after games one concludes. Game three of the series will be on Sunday, Mar. 10 at 2 p.m. ET.
 
The Blazers are coming off a tough loss on Wednesday night, where after trailing 5-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Valdosta State was able to get the winning run in scoring position but couldn't complete the comeback with the bases loaded. Junior Hunter Stowe started the rally by hitting a two-run homerun for his third of the 2024 campaign.
 
Valdosta State hits the road with a 9-8 (4-5 GSC) record, while West Alabama hosts VSU with a 10-10 (3-6 GSC) record.
 
The Tigers are coming off a win on Wednesday night at Tuskegee, where UWA scored five unanswered runs to win 5-4. West Alabama is led by first year head coach Eric DuBose. DuBose joins the Tigers after previously playing in professional baseball for 12 years. DuBose's offense has two players hitting above .300 on the season, as junior first baseman Cade Horton leads the way with a .333 average in 17 starts on the season. He also leads the team in doubles with six and a team-high .443 on-base percentage. Fellow junior Bryce Newman is right behind him, as the infielder is batting .320 on the year while leading the team in hits with 24 and runs with 15 in 20 starts this year. West Alabama has been using two main arms this season, as they have turned to Maxwell Schumacher and Bryant Quimby to start in exactly half of their games in 2024. The duo has each pitched in 25 innings and have allowed a collective 30 earned runs while fanning 42 opposing hitters.
 
Valdosta State is led the 17^th year head coach Greg Guilliams, who holds an overall record of 482-311-1 during his time in Titletown. Guilliams' offense is led by the two-headed monster of senior Ryan Romano and sophomore Dennis Pierce. Romano is hitting .462 on the season which is first in the GSC and has an on-base percentage of .547 which is third in the conference. Heading into the weekend series, Romano is on a six-game hitting streak. For Pierce, the sophomore from Philly is hitting .410 while leading the GSC in triples with three. Pierce also leads the team in hits, homeruns, RBIs, and slugging percentage. On the bump, VSU has gone with many different pitching combinations, as seven different Blazers have pitched in ten or more innings thus far. Out of those seven, junior Nick Ferrara has been shutting opponents down out of the 'pen. In eight appearances, Ferrara has eight hits in 12 innings of work and has struck out five. He is holding opposing batters to an average of .182 and has allowed one extra-base hit.
 
Since 2011, Valdosta State holds a 16-15 edge over West Alabama in the past 31 games. Last season, VSU took two out of three over UWA in Valdosta. The Blazers are 3-8 in Livingston since 2011.
 
Following the weekend trip, the Blazers will continue their road trip by heading to Americus, Ga. to take on Georgia Southwestern on Tuesday, Mar. 12 at 6 p.m.