Kevin Rogers and the Valdosta State Blazers host top-ranked North Alabama this weekend.

Whenever teams from Valdosta State and North Alabama meet, there is usually something on the line, including bragging rights over a big conference rival.

This weekend, first place in the Gulf South Conference baseball standings is up for grabs, as the currently first place Blazers will welcome the second place, but No. 1 ranked, North Alabama Lions to Billy Grant Field.

The two teams will play a doubleheader today at 2 p.m., with game three set for Sunday at 1 p.m.

“I think every conference weekend is important,” Valdosta State head coach Greg Guilliams said. “I am not sure if one is necessarily more important than the other, but for us, we are just trying to get better. There are plenty of things we need to work on, and if we can keep getting better, hopefully we can put ourselves into a position, at the end of the year, where we want to be.”

Despite the higher ranking in the regional and national polls, the Lions trail the Blazers by one game in the conference standings entering today’s action. The winner of this weekend’s series will hold sole possession of first place, with less than a month remaining until the conference tournament.

“We are just going to go in there and play it like we do each and every day,” said catcher Christian Glisson, a former Lowndes High star. “We are playing against the game, not necessarily against the team. We have a good scouting report… They are just like everyone else, they are very beatable.”

The Blazers (15-10) have won five of their last eight games after taking two of three games from previously 14th ranked Delta State last weekend. The Blazers fell to Saint Leo, 16-8, on Wednesday in non-conference action.

North Alabama enters with a 24-7 mark, having won nine of its last 10 games, including a 7-5 victory over Tennessee Wesleyan last Sunday, which ended TWC’s 21-game winning streak, and a 7-3 victory over Martin Methodist on Tuesday.

“North Alabama has a very veteran club,” Guilliams said. “They are very well coached. The thing they do, that gives a lot of people trouble, is that they have a lot of team speed and they steal bases, so they constantly create pressure.”

If VSU is able to grab the series victory, it will be the culmination of what has been a bounce back season for the program, which finished the 2011 season with a 22-27 record and a quick two-game exit from the conference tournament.

“Well, I don’t know what other people think, but I can certainly say, from the players’ and coaches’ standpoint, every season is a new season, and what you did last year doesn’t mean anything,’ Guilliams said. “For us, we feel like we are getting better and I think our guys like where they are at right now.”

“We have a lot of guys here that are here for the right reasons,” Glisson said. “They have the right mindset and they have the same goal. We just come out here and work hard.”

During the first two months of the season, the play of Glisson has been superior. The former Georgia Bulldog is hitting .430 with a team-leading five home runs and 25 runs batted in. He also leads the team with 37 hits and 21 runs scored.

“I am just blessed,” Glisson said. “We do a lot during practice. Coach Todd (Guilliams) doesn’t try to do a whole lot with me and I think that helps a lot. We make little tweaks here and there.”

Along with the play of Glisson, the VSU pitching has vastly improved from last season, including senior left-hander Kevin Rogers. The San Diego, Calif. native has a team-leading 2.06 earned run average, and opponents are hitting just .195 off him this season.

“I think just getting into that rhythm and getting into a good mindset for the whole game, going through practice as usual and getting my flat grounds in is pretty much the key for me,” said Rogers.

Along with Rogers, the addition of Pete Whittingslow, who missed much of the season with an injury, and Jarod Carlton, who also missed much of the season with an injury, has been critical. Combined, the two transfers have appeared in 14 games and have combined for a 6-2 record, with a 3.31 ERA.

“We have something good going here,” Rogers said. “It just shows how well we are practicing and playing.”

Overall, the VSU pitching staff is holding opponents to a .239 average this season, compared to the .294 average opponents had last season.

“We are finally getting healthy,” Guilliams said. “We still don’t have everyone back, but we have enough pieces of the puzzle that we can be competitive on the weekends. Hopefully, in the next week or two, if we get everyone back, I’d like to see what we could do.”