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VALDOSTA — The Valdosta State Blazer baseball team opened their 2024 season on the road at Albany State on Tuesday. The Blazers are coming off a successful 2023 season, finishing with a record of 33-20 and an appearance in the GSC Championship and the NCAA South Regional.

Fans can access links to live stats, rosters and more at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.

VSU was selected second in the 2024 GSC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. West Florida was voted first in the conference with 144 points and 12 of the 13 first place votes. Lee was third with 109 points and Montevallo was right behind them at 101 points. Alabama Huntsville received the other first place vote and had 99 points to round out the top five.

The team also learned that three incoming Blazers were selected to the 2024 GSC Baseball Newcomers to Watch List. Junior Dennis Pierce is a recent outfield / third baseman transfer from Lackawanna College. In one season there, the Quakertown, Pennsylvania native played in 13 games as a hitter and three as a pitcher in 2023.

Pierce hit .464 with 13 hits, three doubles, one home run, 14 RBIs, three runs scored, and one stolen base. In his three appearances on the bump, he pitched in 3.1 innings and allowed seven hits with five earned runs.

The second Blazer named to the Newcomers to Watch List was junior Pedro Moreno. Moreno is an infielder who played two seasons at South Florida State College. In his two seasons, the Caracas, Venezuela, product was named to the All-FCSAA NJCAA All-Region 8 Division II Baseball Infield in 2022 and 2023. He held a strong batting average of .379 with 79 hits, 12 HRs, 59 RBIs, 56 runs scored, and six bags swiped. He ranked 26th in the nation in triples with five and 17th in the country in total bases with 142. In the field, he recorded 81 put-outs, 131 assists, and 20 errors for a fielding percentage of .914.

The final Blazer named to the Newcomers Watch List is junior Keaton Fuller. Fuller is originally from Fairhope, Alabama. and played two seasons for the Troy Trojans. In those two seasons, Fuller appeared in 31 games where he recorded three wins and one loss. He struck out 57 batters and allowed 51 hits, 38 runs, 30 runs, six doubles, two triples, and six home runs on 241 batters faced for an ERA of 5.19.

Head coach Greg Guilliams is in his 17th season at the helm of the Blazers. During his time in Titletown, coach has an overall record of 473-303-1 for a winning percentage of .609. Guilliams had led the Blazers to eight 30+ win seasons, including a 33-20 record in 2023 and an appearance in NCAA South regional.

Following Tuesday’s matchup on the road, the Valdosta State Blazers will be back to Titletown to host Florida Tech in a three-game series starting on Friday, Feb. 9 to open up baseball in Valdosta. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. at Billy Grant Field.