VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Blazers (10-9, 7-1 GSC) welcome the West Alabama Tigers (13-7, 7-2 GSC) to Titletown for a weekend series with a doubleheader on Friday, Mar. 7 at 2 p.m. followed by a single game on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 1 p.m.
The Blazers are hot, as they are winners of five straight and eight of nine, but the Tigers might be even hotter, as they have won eight in a row with sweeps over Auburn Montgomery and Christian Brothers on top of midweek wins against Spring Hill and Miles College. VSU is currently sitting atop the GSC standings at 7-1 with UWA half a game back along with DSU as they are 7-2 through three weeks of GSC play.
The Valdosta State bats have been the X-factor as of late, as Jan Weisberg's offense has scored 13 or more runs in five straight games for the first time since 2009 following the sweep over Alabama Huntsville on the road before caging the Nova Southeastern Sharks on Tuesday and Wednesday at Billy Grant Field.
In the fifth inning of Wednesday's win, the power bats of
Orlando Pena,
Hunter Stowe, and
Easton Hood hit back to back to back home runs over the fence in right as VSU has hit a total of 19 home runs on the year, which is third in the conference as UWA is second with 22 bombs. The Blazers lead the league in batting average (.316), runs scored (163), hits (206), doubles (44), RBI (146), slugging % (.481), and OBP (.417). Individually,
Marcos Sevillano extended his hitting streak to 12 games with two doubles and three RBI in yesterday's win. Sevillano is currently leading the team and GSC in batting average, as he is hitting .478 in 16 starts while going 22-46 at the dish. He is second on the team and the GSC in doubles as he has hit seven while driving in a total of 14 Blazers. Fellow outfielder
Easton Hood is also atop the hitting ranks, as he is second in batting average with a .462 average while leading the GSC in doubles with eight and hitting four bombs which is second on the team and tied for fourth in the league.
Orlando Pena is leading the Blazers in homers with a total of five on the 2025 campaign. The Coastal Carolina transfer is leading the league in RBI with 26 as he has driven in a total of ten in the last two games. Pena has started in 18 games while logging 22 hits for a .314 batting average while playing primarily third base. Second baseman
DJ Banks has been an anchor at the no. two spot in the order as he has reached base in all 19 games this season and is second on the team in RBI with 22 with a team high 29 hits.
We will most likely see the dynamic duo of
Zac Dodson and
Hunter Booth take the hill this weekend for coach Weisberg. Booth has been one of the top arms in the GSC, as the righty is 2-2 in five starts while holding an ERA of 2.79 in 29.0 innings pitched. The Florida product has surrendered 27 hits and six walks while leading the team in strikeouts with 25 while also holding opponents to a .231 batting average. Zac "Doddy" Dodson has been great at keeping the ball down all season. Doddy has made five starts on the year and is 3-2 with a 3.21 ERA in 28.0 IP while only surrendering one home run the year while holding opponents to a .257 batting average. As a team, VSU holds a 5.78 ERA while opponents are batting .276 against the arms.
The West Alabama Tigers are led by head coach Eric DuBose, who is in his second year with UWA and is 34-33 including this year's impressive start. DuBose's squad has played some similar opponents as VSU with UWA dropping two out of three versus Columbus State to open the year before splitting a two game series as Nova Southeastern. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .272 as a team and hold a team ERA of 4.76, which is second in the conference. Infielder Blake Vineyard is leading the Tigers with a .396 batting average in 16 starts while driving in 14. Eli Burwash leads the team in hits with 27 as he has slugged three home runs and driven in 15 while also leading the team in OBP with a .489. West Alabama also has a strong 1-2 punch on the mound as they are led righty Maxwell Schumacher and southpaw Bryant Quimby. Schumacher has a 3.15 ERA in five appearances with four starts and had a rough out last weekend as he allowed seven runs (five earned) in three innings pitched while striking out four. Quimby was lights out in his last start, as he went 6.2 shutout innings while striking out six against Christian Brothers.
VSU took two out of three in Livingston last season as the Blazers have won eight of the last ten games against UWA including three straight series dating back to 2018.
Following the weekend series, Valdosta State will hit the road as they play at Georgia College on Tuesday, Mar. 11 at 4 p.m.
