VALDOSTA, Ga. — The Valdosta State University baseball team (3-7, 1-2 Gulf South Conference) plays a fourth-straight home game on Tuesday night when it hosts Georgia Southwestern (7-4) in a standalone non-conference matchup at Billy Grant Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
The Blazer lineup has been led by several keys bats, none more impressive than junior Charlie Banks to this point in the season. Banks carries a .378 batting average along with two home runs and ten RBI, all team highs. Junior Matt Keller has been equally productive, slashing .371/.489/.429 to this point in the year. Junior Isaiah Pou has provided power in the middle of the order, tying to lead the team with two home runs while posting an OPS north of .850.
Junior Luke Flading has been among the team's most consistent hitters at a .292 batting average. Senior Brent Howard has a home run to his name this season while slashing .282/.420/.462 on the year. Howard has also drawn a team-high ten walks this season. Senior Jackson Webster became the fourth Blazer to hit a home run in 2026 when he pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth inning during Saturday's loss to Union.
On the mound, senior Drake LaRoche has been a reliable starter for the red and black. LaRoche holds a 3.38 ERA and has struck out 13 batters in his 16 innings of work. The senior also earned the first win by a VSU starting pitcher in 2026. Junior Garrett Moody has been a key strikeout arm for the Blazers, recording 20 strikeouts across 13 innings pitched.
Sophomore Jacob Page has been excellent to open the year out of the bullpen, allowing no runs with seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings of relief work. Senior Vinny Del Negro has also held opponents scoreless in 4.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen. Junior Cam Habada leads the bullpen and pitching staff with two wins so far this season.
Georgia Southwestern enters Tuesday's matchup at 7-4 overall and riding a four-game win streak behind one of the more productive offenses in the country during the early part of the season.
The Hurricanes are led by Devon Murphy, who is hitting .432 with 18 RBI and an OPS over 1.200. Evan Wainman has been equally consistent at the plate, batting .410 with a 1.200-plus OPS, while Caleb Gipson is hitting .391 to give GSW multiple hitters well above the .350 mark. Josh McDonald adds additional run production with 20 RBI on the year.
On the mound, Evan Koehler has anchored the pitching staff with 20.0 innings pitched and a 0.45 ERA. The Hurricanes have found several strong starts from a rotation rounded out by Johnny Nutt and Jensen Seculer.
Historically, VSU holds a 21-17 advantage over GSW dating back to 2007, when the teams split a series. The Blazers have won three out of four over the Hurricanes, but GSW won the latter of two meetings in 2025.
Find live stats, written coverage, streaming links, and more on vstateblazers.com and follow @VState_Blazers as well as @VState_Baseball to stay up to date with the team as they begin GSC play.
