VALDOSTA – The Valdosta State baseball team is set to host Gulf South Conference foe Auburn Montgomery for a weekend series at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park. The Blazers will honor their six seniors on Saturday for Senior Day. 

The series begins with a single game on Friday, April 15, at 5 p.m., and will conclude with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 16, starting at 1 p.m. Senior Day festivities will take place at approximately 12:40 on Saturday, prior to the doubleheader.

Blazer baseball has the honor of highlighting six seniors this year before the start of the doubleheader on Saturday against AUM. The 2022 senior class includes; Mike Christopoulos, Elijah Gill, Luke Ard, EJ Doskow, Adrian Garrstazu and Jisjar Clotida. Best of luck to each of these seniors in their future endeavors.

Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page. Check back with the site for complete recaps and stats of each game throughout the season. The game will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM and talk921.com with Bill Malone having the call.

The Blazers are 23-10 on the season and 13-7 in the GSC and head into the weekend after a midweek matchup against Georgia College where freshman Anthony Gutierrez’s walk-off RBI double lifted the Blazers for a 4-3 victory. VSU trailed 3-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth before the final at bat heroics. Junior Orlando Adams began the frame with his first home run as a Blazer for a 3-1 deficit and then the Blazers loaded the bases as junior Jose Crisostomo Bock singled up the middle plating two runs before Gutierrez’s winning hit.

The Warhawks are 23-15 overall and 12-9 in the GSC. On the season, Auburn Montgomery has 395 hits, 286 runs scored, 64 doubles, four triples, 25 home runs, 241 RBI, and 35 stolen bases. Offensively, junior Syer Brody leads the Warhawks hitting a .366 with 48 hits, six doubles, one triple, six home runs, 44 RBI, and 28 runs scored. Defensively, the Warhawks have a combined 5.53 ERA with 241 strikeouts and have given up 369 hits, 224 runs, and 134 free passes.

The Blazers have 10 wins and three losses against the Warhawks since March 2018 for a three-game winning streak. VSU topped AUM 7-6 in the last matchup on May 8, 2021, in the Gulf South Conference Tournament in ten innings, and have a 5-1 record on the Warhawks at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park.

Heading into the week for the Blazers, junior EJ Doskow leads the team in average at a .427 clip on 47 of 110 from the dish. He has scored 32 runs for second on the team, while the 47 hits lead the team, while the .427 average also is tops in the GSC. Doskow has a team-high 11 doubles and eight home runs as both lead the team.  He has driven in 43 for the season, while he is slugging .745 for the season and reaching base at a .508 clip. Redshirt senior Luke Ard is second in average at a .351 clip on 34 of 97 from the plate. He has nine doubles, one triple, one home run and 25 RBI. Junior Ryan Romano is third in average at a .310 clip on 36 of 116 from the plate. He has scored 34 runs to lead the team, while recording four doubles, one triple and 11 RBI. Junior Bryson Gandy leads the team in stolen bases at 11 for 15 for the season.

As a team, the Blazers are hitting .287 on the year with 219 runs scored, 303 hits, 57 doubles, eight triples, 16 home runs and 185 RBI. The team is slugging .401, while reaching base at a .383 clip and going 40 of 59 in stolen bases.

On the mound, the Blazers have a 4.27 ERA in 261.1 innings of work. VSU has fanned 220 and walked 93 for the season as teams are hitting .269 against it. Senior Elijah Gill leads the team with a 2.18 ERA and a 7-1 record in nine starts. He has one complete game and one shutout, while combining for another.  Gill leads the team in innings pitched at 53.2, while he has allowed 26 runs on 56 hits, 13 earned runs, walked 15 and fanned a team-high 64. The opposition is hitting .250 against him. Junior Kevin Tomas is second in ERA at 3.13, while he is 2-0 in eight starts with 37.1 innings pitched. Tomas has allowed 36 hits, 13 earned runs, walked ten and fanned 20.

The Blazers are tied for fifth this week in the latest NCBWA South Region Top Ten, as Tampa leads the poll, followed by Rollins. Delta State sits third in the poll, followed by Florida Southern at fourth and Valdosta State and West Florida are tied for fifth. Nova Southeastern is seventh, followed by Savannah State, Montevallo, and Saint Leo. VSU is 29th in the latest Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 25.

For all information on Blazer baseball visit vstateblazers.com or follow Valdosta State Athletics on social media.