VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Blazer baseball team will play four games this week starting with a game tomorrow versus Georgia College at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College at 4 p.m. ET. Following Tuesday's game, Valdosta State will hit the road and will play at Mississippi College on Friday, April 5 at 6 p.m. ET before playing in a doubleheader on Saturday, April 6 starting at 2 p.m. ET.
 
The Blazers are coming off a thrilling series win versus the Montevallo Falcons and have now won two straight games. VSU is 16-12 overall and are 10-8 in GSC play and currently sit in sixth place in the conference. Valdosta State has won four straight series dating back to the beginning of March and look to continue that trend through April. Sophomore Dennis Pierce slugged his way to a Blazer series win over Montevallo this past weekend. In his three games, the Quakertown, Pa. native went 5-11 at the plate for a .455 batting average with two home runs and nine driven in. Pierce also scored three times and only struck out one time in those 11 at-bats. On the season, Pierce is ranked first on the team and second in the GSC in RBIs with 47. The slugger is also second in the conference in OPS and slugging percentage with a 1.262 and .750, respectively. Junior Nick Ferrara was locking down opposing hitters in Montevallo last weekend, appearing in two games and recording two saves for the Blazers. In three innings pitched, the Tallahassee, Fla. native went three innings and struck out five Falcon hitters and allowed one hit and one walk for a 0.00 ERA. On the season, Ferrara has a 0.86 ERA and .90 WHIP in 21 innings pitched while recording three saves and holding opponents to a .171 batting average.
 
Up first is the Georgia College Bobcats, who come into this matchup with a 20-12 (11-4 PBC) record and most recently won two out of three versus USC Aiken on the road this past weekend. The Bobcats are led by fourth year head coach Noah Belcher, who is 95-74 during his time in Milledgeville, Ga. Belcher's offense is led by slugging infielder Matthew Mebane. The junior from Dublin, Georgia is ranked first in the conference and second in the nation with 14 home runs so far in the 2024 campaign. Mebane has driven in 40 runners and is slugging an outstanding .712 on the year. On the bump, GCSU is led by John Luke Glanton, who has made nine starts this season and is 5-3 with a 3.14 ERA. The sophomore is holding opponents to a .252 batting average in 57.1 innings pitched.
 
Looking ahead to the weekend, Valdosta State will hit the road for a second straight weekend as they head to Clinton, Miss. to face the Choctaws. Mississippi College is 14-17 (6-12 GSC) on the season and won one out of three versus West Alabama in Livingston, Ala. this past weekend. MC is on a little bit of a skid, as they have not won a three-game series since the weekend of February 16 versus Christian Brothers. The Choctaws are led by Jeremy Haworth, who is in his ninth season with Mississippi College and 13^th overall. During his time in Clinton, Haworth is 172-205. Mississippi College likes the long ball, as they are second in the GSC in home runs with 44 in total and have two players who have ten or more homers. Outfielder JT Vance has been leading the charge, as the junior has slugged a conference leading 12 homers on the campaign and leads the team in RBIs with 35. On the mound, redshirt senior Holland Townes has been chewing up a lot of innings for the Choctaws. He has started in eight games and has an ERA of 5.26 and leads the team in strikeouts with 53 in 49.2 innings pitched.
 
Following the games this week, the Blazers will start an eight-game homestand starting on Tuesday, April 9 at 5 p.m. versus no. 7 Saint Leo.