VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Blazers will head to Oxford, Ala. to compete in the Gulf South Conference Baseball Championship. The No. 2-seeded Blazers will take on the No. 7-seeded Lee Flames on Friday, May 2 at 2 p.m. ET at Choccolocco Park. Fans can access all information on the event by clicking the link here.
 
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GSC Championship History
The Blazers will be making their 25^th appearance all-time and their sixth straight. They hold an overall record of 43-43 in the tournament and have won a total of four GSC Championships (1995, 2002, 2010, 2013). Valdosta State last made the championship game in 2023 when they fell to West Florda by a final of 10-8 in ten innings. Last season, the Blazers defeated Montevallo in the first round by a final of 13-2 in eight innings before upsetting the top-seeded Lee Flames by a final of 10-0 in seven innings. Hunter Booth tossed a complete game shutout while allowing four hits on 101 pitches and fanning seven. Following the 2-0 start to the tournament, VSU fell in the semifinals to West Florida and then Delta State in the losers' bracket. Jovanni Canegitta and Hunter Stowe were dominant during the tournament, as the returners were each named to the GSC All-Tournament Team following the conclusion of the weekend.
 
A Look Back at the Regular Season
The Blazers started the regular season with a record of 2-8 as things looked bleak with head coach Jan Weisberg entering his first season as the third head coach is VSU baseball history. The Blazers would then rattle off 11 wins in 14 games as the swept Trevecca Nazarene, Alabama Huntsville, and Nova Southeastern as they sat at 13-11 overall and were 9-2 in GSC play at the beginning of March. After dropping two straight GSC series, the Blazers would sweep the Choctaws of Mississippi College at Billy Grant Field as they had started to gain control of the Gulf South Conference. Following a loss at top-ranked Tampa, VSU would go and take two out of three at Auburn Montgomery before sweeping Christian Brothers on the road to conclude the road trips. Coming back home for senior weekend, Orlando Pena gave the fans the best moment of the season to date as he hit a walk off three run blast in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game on a full count versus West Florida as Bill Grant Field erupted. The Blazers finished the regular season with a record of 29-20 overall and 22-10 in the GSC as they finished second by half a game to Delta State. VSU's .688 conference winning percentage is their best clip since 2010, when they went 10-4 for a .714 percentage where they finished second in the east division. The 2010 Blazers would go on to win the GSC Championship for the third time in school history.
 
Orlando's Dominance
After sitting out in 2024, Orlando Pena made his debut for the Blazers in 2025 and showed out. The do it all third baseman started in 47 games for Valdosta State and is currently ranked fourth in the nation in RBI with 78 and is seventh in home runs with 20. Pena is batting .350 while leading the GSC in slugging percentage with a .750 and OPS with a 1.175.
 
Take it to the Bank
An anchor in the lineup, DJ Banks started in all 49 games for Weisberg at primarily second base while leading the team in hits with 66. Banks batted .342 on the year and was second on the team in RBI with 43. The Powder Springs, Ga. product ranked ninth in GSC in doubles as he hit 14 on the year while scoring a total of 39 times. Banks showed speed on the bases as he legged out three triples on the year and tallied eight stolen bases in 12 attempts. In the field, Banks turned 39 double plays at second and committed a total of 11 errors for a fielding percentage of .951.
 
Booth the Blazer Ace
After dominating down the stretch last season, Hunter Booth finally got a full season as a starter under his belt, as he is currently 7-5 in 13 starts and holds a 3.45 ERA. Booth leads the team in innings pitched at 78.1 and strikeouts with 73, which are both top five in the GSC. Booth has tossed two complete games while his best performance came against the Lee Flames as the Florida native struck out a career high 13 en route to a 5-1 VSU win.
 
The Southpaw out of the 'Pen
Entering his second season in Titletown, Ryan Brown was granted the closer role early and never looked back, as the southpaw currently has seven saves on the season. The lefty has appeared in 20 games this far and has a 4-1 record with an ERA of 2.17 to lead the team. Opponents are hitting .248 against Brown as he has allowed 27 hits in 29.0 innings pitched while fanning 22.
 
Friday's Matchup
The No. 2-seeded Blazers will play the No. 7-seeded Flames yet again, as they met in the second round of the GSC Championship last season. In the regular season, Valdosta State took two out of three versus Lee at Billy Grant Field with Lee taking game one before VSU rattled off two straight wins to steal the series. From the Flames, we will most likely see Cooper Casteel take the hill on Friday. Against VSU earlier this season, the southpaw went 5.1 innings and allowed four earned runs while fanning six in the Lee win. On the year, Casteel is 6-4 in 13 starts and holds an ERA of 3.14 in 71.2 innings pitched. JJ Williams hit two home runs versus the Blazers earlier this year as the outfielder has nine on the year while batting .340. Second baseman Luke Collier leads Lee in average as he is batting .393 in 2025 with a total of 75 hits, ranked second in the GSC.
 
What's Next
Following the Friday matchup, the winner of the game will face the winner on No. 3-seeded West Florida and No. 6-seeded Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday, May 3 at 2 p.m. ET. If Valdosta State were to lose, they would play the loser of the matchup at 11 a.m. ET in the double elimination tournament.