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PENSACOLA, Fla. - Winners of nine of their last 10 contests, the 13th ranked University of West Florida Baseball team will hit the road for just the second time in the 2021 season as they travel to Valdosta, Georgia to face Valdosta State on Friday and Saturday.

Friday's first pitch will be at 5 p.m. ET while Saturday's double-header begins at 1 p.m. ET.  VSU is allowing attendance at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park, however all seating is limited and socially distanced.  This is a mandatory mask event and all fans are expected to comply with the wearing of masks/face covering protocol.  Gates will open one hour before game time.  For more information on VSU's COVID protocols, please visit https://vstateblazers.com/index.aspx.

The series will be crucial for both teams, as they come into the weekend at second and third in the Gulf South Conference standings.  Lee University holds the top spot.  West Florida is coming off a weekend sweep at home against Christian Brothers.  Outscoring the Buccaneers by a total of 20-6 in the three-game set, UWF got dominant performances from their starters, Evan Floyd and Tyler Dowdy.  Floyd had a masterful outing in game one, throwing a nine-inning complete game with 11 strikeouts, while the right-hander only allowed two runs on six hits.

Meanwhile, Dowdy had his best performance of the season in game two of the series.  Throwing a career-high 7.2 innings, Tyler efficiently got his way through the game as he only allowed one run on four hits, while surrendering no walks and striking out five.  The five strikeouts tied a career-high for Dowdy.  Sean Means came in on relief of Dowdy, as the redshirt freshman delivered a gem of his own, throwing 3.1 innings and only allowing a run on one hit while striking out two to earn the victory.

UWF found timely hitting in games one and two of the series before breaking out in a big way in game three as the Argos won 14-2.  Dylan Menhennett and Cullan O'Shea were the heroes of Saturday as each hit a walk-off homer to end game's one and two.  Menhennett drove in four runs in Saturday's double-header, including his two solo shots, with O'Shea adding two RBI's on his walk-off two run homerun in the bottom of the 11th of game two.  Sunday's game three was a much different story as eight different Argos tallied at least one RBI, with Justin Dunnam totaling four to lead the squad.  Jason Roberts led all players with three runs scored.

No Strangers To The Walk-Off: Totaling six walk-off victories during the 2021 season, West Florida has achieved the win on a last at-bat in many different ways.  Earning their first walk-off against West Alabama on February 7th via a sacrifice fly, UWF has also ended games on homeruns (3), a balk and another sac fly.  Three different Argonauts have hit a walk-off homer as Joey Wozniak, Menhennett and O'Shea have each hit one.  Dunnam has contributed to two of the wins as he notched an RBI on the sac fly against West Alabama, while he also came home to score the final run on a balk against Mississippi College.  Matthew Estrada also had a walk-off sacrifice fly against Spring Hill.

So Many Dingers: In their last 9 games, the Argos have found a power surge as they have hit 13 homeruns as a team in that span.  In four contests, the Argonauts have hit multiple home runs as O'Shea and Menhennett have led the way, tallying four and three round-trippers apiece.  Adam Imwalle and Roberts have each hit two since becoming mainstays in the line-up on March 5th, with Estrada and Mike Scordo each blasting one of their own.  West Florida only knocked a total of five homeruns in their first 10 contests.

UWF, An Offensive Juggernaut: Through 22 games, the Argo offense has been electric as they have totaled a GSC-best .303 batting average. Ranking second in the league in hits (226), third in runs scored (148), third in triples (four), second in total bases (324), and third in slugging percentage (.390), the Argonauts have feasted on pitchers in the conference all season long.  With four regulars batting over .304 and three other players hitting .400 or better, it is no wonder why West Florida averages nearly 6.8 runs per contest.  UWF has also totaled 58 extra-base hits on the season, with O'Shea leading the pack as he has five doubles, one triple and four homers.  Menhennett trails him with eight extra-base knocks, followed by Roberts who has seven in eight fewer appearances.  West Florida also ranks in the top 50 of division two in runs scored and batting average.

Two-Time GSC Freshman of the Week, Tyler Dowdy: Dowdy, a native of Plant City, Florida, has already secured GSC freshman of the week honors twice this season.  In his collegiate debut on February 7th, Tyler was efficient as he threw a seven-inning shutout, allowing no runs on five hits, while striking out five on only 74 pitches.  In last weekend's contest against Christian Brothers, Dowdy was even more dominant as he totaled 7.2 innings, a career-high, while only allowing one run on four hits, while allowing no walks and fanning five batters.  The freshman also set the Bucs down in order in five straight innings in the game.  For the season, Dowdy sits at 1-1 while he leads all GSC freshmen with a 3.38 earned run average in six starts.  Additionally, he is third on the Argos in innings pitched (32), strikeouts (19) and fourth in opponent batting average (.256).

The Dominant Evan Floyd: In seven starts, Floyd has been one of the top pitchers, not only in the GSC, but in all of Division two.  Standing at 5-0, Evan also sits in the top 10 of the GSC with a 1.47 ERA (2nd), two complete games, 43 innings pitched (4th), 48 strikeouts (3rd), strikeouts looking (18), opposing batting average (2nd) and wins (2nd). Floyd also has struck out at least six batters in five of his seven starts, while he has also pitched at least five innings in all of his appearances.  Evan also has not allowed more than two runs in any single start in 2021.

Argos In The Rankings: With their 17-5 record, West Florida has been able to steadily climb their way up the national and regional rankings. Checking in at number 13 in both the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Polls, UWF has made their presence known after initially not being ranked in the preseason.  Additionally, the Argos come in at number three in this week's south region rankings, with only GSC foe,  Lee University and Tampa ahead of them.  Lee sits at number six in the CBN poll with Tampa taking the top spot.  This week's opponent, Valdosta State, took the fifth spot in the south region.

Scouting Valdosta State: VSU (14-6, 12-5 in the GSC), is led by coach Greg Guilliam who is in his 14th season with the program.  The Blazers come into this weekend as winners of three in a row, after taking two of three from Union followed by a mid-week victory over Georgia Southwestern.  David Mayberry, leading the GSC in batting average at .416, leads a high-powered Valdosta offense as the Blazers are currently fourth in the league in batting average (.293), fifth in runs scored (142), fourth in hits (197), first in doubles (46), and tied for first in slugging percentage (.390).  Mayberry ranks first on VSU with five doubles and five homeruns.

On the mound, the Blazers are paced by Elijah Gill and Tristan Cone.  Gill and Cone rank one and two on the Blazers' starters with a 4.22 and 4.41 ERA, respectively.  Gill paces VSU with 41 strikeouts in six starts, while Cone has 40 to put them both in the top 10 of the conference.  Cone also ranks 10th in the GSC in opposing batting average at .228.

Series History: Dating back to 2006, UWF is 27-21 against the Blazers which includes a 12-12 mark in Valdosta, Georgia.  In the last meeting between the two squads in 2019, UWF swept the Blazers on the road.  Estrada, Imwalle and Menhennett combined for seven RBI's in the series.

For the latest on the UWF Baseball Team, please visit GoArgos.com or follow the team on Twitter @UWF_Baseball.