February 24, 2015
 
Full Release and Game Notes in PDF Format
Live Stats/Live Video
*Live video available in games 2 & 3 of series
 
PENSACOLA, Fla.  –  The University of West Florida baseball team continues Gulf South Conference play this weekend at Jim Spooner Field, as the Argos will host Valdosta State for a three-game series beginning Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Saturday will consist of a double header with a nine-inning and seven-inning game, with Sunday being a single nine-inning game.
 
O'CONNOR, GRANAT CONTINUE TO DOMINATE: West Florida starting pitchers Walker O'Connor and JT Granat continued their solid starts to the 2016, as O'Connor owns a 1.53 ERA while Granat has a 1.23 ERA… O'Connor stands seventh in the GSC in ERA, while Granat sits in fourth… UWF is the only team in the GSC with two pitchers within the top 10 ERA leaders.
 
MAZZURCO MOVES TO ROTATION: Transfer junior Anthony Mazzurco is slated to start Sunday's game for the Argonauts... Through three relief appearances, Mazzurco owns a 2.57 ERA, good for third best on the UWF pitching staff with a minimum of five innings pitched... Mazzurco, who was a starter for Lake Sumter State College in 2014 and 2015, posted a 2.82 ERA with three           complete games in 70.1 innings pitched last season.
 
NAGEM REBOUNDS: Brandon Nagem, who entered his start against Spring Hill with an uncharacteristic 6.92 ERA, posted a strong performance against the Badgers on Wednesday... With the performance, Nagem lowered his ERA by nearly a run and a half, as the Pensacola native kept the Badger bats modest over five innings with allowing only one earned run and four hits... Nagem matched his season-high with seven strikeouts... Nagem was able to work himself out of a second inning jam, with the Badgers threatening with a bases-loaded, no-out situation, but the left-hander was able to get out of the inning with limited damage done and only allowed one run to cross.
 
CONSISTENT BULLPEN: The UWF bullpen has provided head coach Mike Jeffcoat with a solid amount of depth, as Argonaut relievers have combined for a 2.43 ERA over 40.2 innings pitched in 2016... The West Florida 'pen has struck out a total of 45 batters in those 40.2 innings, while only allowing 13 free passes.
 
SHUTTING THE DOOR: Steven McClellan has emerged as the UWF closer in the early goings of the 2016 season, having converted on both of his save opportunities this season... Josh McLaney has also posted a save on the season... Both McLaney and McClellan have yet to surrender an earned run over 10.1 combined innings pitched... McClellan owns a team-best 0.83 walks/hits per inning pitched... McLaney owns a share of the team lead in relief apperances, having five no the season.
 
GSC ARMS RACE: The UWF pitching staff ranks second in the GSC with a 2.74 ERA, while also
being in second for fewest total of walks allowed, only allowing 25 (2.72 per game)... West Florida's three wild pitches is the second fewest in the league, while its seven hit batters is the lowest total in the conference... UWF has faced the third highest total of batters in the conference and has the third best strikeouts/walks ratio.
 
RBI PRODUCTION: The West Florida lineup has posted an eye-catching .748 batting average with a runner on third base and less than two outs, led by Jean Figueroa who is 5-for-5 in those opportunities... Colby Brown is 4-for-4 in that situation as well... With two outs and a runner on third, UWF is batting .301 as a team with Nic Strasser leading the way in production in that secnario, going 8-for-17 (.471)... Strasser also leads the team with six 2-out RBI... Strasser, who leads the team with 13 total RBI, sits in a tie for eighth most in the GSC.
 
MIDDLE OF THE ORDER POP: Jean Figueroa and Ladeavon Matthews have provided UWF with stability in the middle of the order, as they rank first and second, respecitvely, in batting order for the UWF lineup... Matthews' .674 slugging percentage ranks as the best for the Argos, while sitting inside of the GSC's top 15... Figueroa leads the Argonauts in various statistical categories, including a .406 batting average on balls in play, .357 batting average, five multi-hit games, a .417 average with runners on base, and a .467 average with runners in scoring position... Both Matthews and Figueroa have 15 hits on the season to lead UWF and stands as 13th best in the GSC.
 
BUT DOES HE GET ON BASE?: As a team, UWF owns a .378 on base percentage while featuring six players with an OBP above .400... Strasser leads the team with a .455 on base percentage which is tied for 26th best in the GSC... Strasser has walked a total 10 times this season, which is the fourth highest total in the conference.
 
CALL SECURITY: UWF has the second best stolen base percentage in the GSC, being able to swipe 16 of 18 bases in 2016... Nic Strasser and Ladeavon Matthews lead the team with four stole bases each, while five other Argos have contributed at least one stolen base on the season.
 
RUNNING THROUGH THE SIX: The number six spot in the order, which has been shared by Robert Lopez, Ladeavon Matthews, Michael Savas, Jean Figueroa, Justin Ambrosino, Nick Kerkmann and Colby Brown, has hit .410 this season, by far the most successful out of any spot in the order this season... The next closest average would be the leadoff spot, which is hitting a solid .341 this season.
 
ARGOS SQUEAK BY SPRING HILL: UWF recorded its first come-from-behind victory of the 2016 season earlier this week, as UWF scraped together two runs in the eighth inning to beat nearby rival Spring Hill 3-2 on Wednesday... The victory marks as the fouth consecutive time UWF has beaten Spring Hill... Colby Brown posted a 1-for-4 day with a double and a sacrafic fly... Jarrod Petree got the win on the mound, throwing 1.1 innings of of shutout and hitless relief.
 
KKKKKKKKKKKKKK: The Argonaut arms set a new single-game best on Wednesday, striking out 14 Badger hitters... Brandon Nagem tied his season-high with seven strikeouts... Sean Kennedy struck out the side in the eighth inning, while Steven McClellan struck out two batters while recording a save... Jarrod Petree and Cole Crowder each struck out one batter as well, as the total of five pitchers used against SHC is also a 2016 single-game high… UWF's 14 total strikeouts marks as the largest single-game total for the Argos since March 9, 2014 when West Florida struck out 16 Union (Tenn.) hitters at Jim Spooner Field.
 
SCOUTING VALDOSTA STATE: The Blazers, who currently rank No. 3 in the South Region and No. 18 nationally according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Assocation, enters Pensacola on a four-game winning streak... VSU enters the series with a 10-3 overall record and 3-0 conference mark, putting them atop the current GSC standings... Dalton Duty leads the GSC in hitting, having a .500 (21-42) average through VSU's first 13 games... Marcus Sigmon has four home runs on the season with a .313 average and a GSC-best 24 RBI.
 
SERIES HISTORY VS. VSU: Valdosta State holds a 39-33 advantage in the all-time series against UWF... UWF and VSU have not played each other in Pensacola since Feb. 22 2014, when UWF won both games of a double header by scores of 5-1 and 3-2... UWF also beat the Blazers in the 2014 GSC Tournament in convincing fashion, winning 15-4... UWF has not lost a home game against VSU since April 25, 2010, as the Argonauts have won the last nine contests at Jim Spooner Field... UWF has outscored VSU 48-22 during that nine-game home winning streak.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Valdosta State took all three decisions in last year's series in Georgia, winning the games by a score of 9-4, 2-1 and 12-6... Nic Strasser hit the first home run of his career in game three of the series... Nick Kerkmann hit a two-run double in game three... Walker O'Connor tossed 1.2 innings of relief, shutting down the Blazer offense by not allowing them to score and conceeding just one hit.
 
Projected Starting Pitcher Matchups
Saturday G1
UWF: Walker O'Connor – 17.2 IP, 1.53 ERA, 16 H, 13 K, 2 BB, .229 B/AVG.
VSU: Mitchell Cody -- 20.2 IP, 6.10 ERA, 31 H, 24 K, 4 BB, .348 B/AVG.
Saturday G2
UWF: JT Granat – 14.2 IP, 1.23 ERA, 12 H, 11 K, 3 BB, .218 B/AVG.
VSU: Kellan Bailey -- 19.0 IP, 6.16 ERA, 22 H, 13 K, 5 BB, .289 B/AVG.
Sunday
UWF: Anthony Mazzurco – 7 IP, 2.57 ERA, 8 H, 8 K, 1 BB, .267 B/AVG.  
VSU: Kyle Andre -- 15.1 IP, 4.11 ERA, 18 H, 11 K, 3 BB, .316 B/AVG.
 
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