By: Austin Sellars, Staff Writer 

VALDOSTA, Ga. – The VSU men’s baseball team hosts Florida Tech for its home-opening three-game series this weekend, taking place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Feb. 5, 6, and 7, at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park. 

The opening game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, 4 p.m. on Friday, and 1 p.m. on Saturday. 

The Blazers are coming off a tour of South Florida for their opening four games, in which they went 1-4, and are currently on a two-game losing streak. They are currently ranked tenth in the Gulf South Conference standings and have yet to face a conference opponent. 

The Panthers are coming off a three-game sweep of Spring Hill College, leaving them 3-0. They are ranked second in the Sunshine State Conference and have not yet faced a conference opponent. 

VSU and FTU  are tied 8-8 in their overall record against each other, so the winner of this matchup will take the lead. The last matchup between the two was another three-game series, which VSU won 2-1 in 2024. 

VSU junior Charlie Banks has been exceptional at the plate this season, slugging .474 in 19 at-bats, with nine hits, including two doubles, five RBIs, and a homer. 

The Panthers’ bats have also been on fire so far this season, with senior Anthony Fimiano batting .600 with two doubles, two triples, and four RBIs, while junior Gabe Roque has also homered and tallied five RBIs. 

On the mound for the Blazers this past weekend, junior Garrett Moody and senior Drake LaRoche delivered solid performances. Moody posted a 1.00 WHIP over five innings, striking out ten batters, while LaRoche had a solid outing at Palm Beach Atlantic, striking out three and posting a 5.40 ERA. 

Throughout VSU’s tour through South Florida, the Blazers found a lot of success at the plate and left a lot of promising signs of offensive production, but they struggled to get much going on the mound, and that’s what ultimately hurt them. 

In the last two games, VSU has also left a total of 23 runners on base, one of the program’s biggest struggles this season. Scoring runners on base will likely be VSU’s main focus leading up to this three-game series. 

A clean sweep for VSU this weekend would turn their season around, putting them back at .500. The first pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday night.