LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO: FRIDAY | SATURDAY G1 | SATURDAY G2
IN-GAME UPDATES: @UWF_Baseball on Twitter
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF returns home to the friendly surroundings of Jim Spooner Field this weekend, opening a 4-game homestand with a series against No. 24 Valdosta State. The 3-game set gets underway on Friday at 6:00 p.m. with a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday for Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day.
 
ABOUT WEST FLORIDA
* UWF comes into the weekend with a 20-17 record following a 6-3 midweek loss to Spring Hill. The Argonauts are 14-8 in Gulf South Conference play and are in third place with six games remaining. UWF is 13-7 at home and has won all four league series at The Spoon.
* UWF is hitting .272 as a team but .322 over the last seven games with five games of 10 hits or more. They have hit a home run in the last five contests and 10 of the team's 28 total HRs have been in the last two weeks. Sophomore Trent Jeffcoat leads the team and is sixth in the GSC with a .389 batting avg. His .492 on-base percentage is fourth in the GSC. 
* The pitching staff has compiled a 5.05 ERA and opponents are hitting .278 off their pitching. The Argos have combined for three shutouts and one complete game. The team's 3.44 Walks Allowed per Nine IP is 28th in the NCAA and is second in the GSC. 
* In the field, UWF has a .974 fielding pct. to rank 10th in the country and has turned 30 double plays to rank 31st nationally. They have turned at least one double play in the six of the last seven games.
* On the base paths, the Argonauts are 54-for-67 in stolen base attempts. Chris Johnson (13-for-14) and Jeffcoat (20-for-23) lead the team.
 
ABOUT VALDOSTA STATE
* VSU is 26-11 overall and just ahead of the Argonauts in second place in the GSC with a 15-8 record. They are 11-6 on the road this season and 3-1 in series away from home. VSU is ranked No. 24 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Top 25.
* As a team, the Blazers are hitting .286 on the year while averaging 7.4 runs per game. The team is slugging .408, with an on-base pct. of .382. 72 percent of their base hits are singles with 20 total home runs (12 on the road), including one each in the last eight contests. EJ Doskow is hitting .402 with eight home runs and 48 RBI.
* VSU has a 4.04 ERA with six shutouts and two complete games. LHP Elijah Gill is 7-1 and one of the top arms in the GSC with a 2.19 ERA for first in the GSC over ten starts. His 72 strikeouts are third in the league with just 17 walks, while holding opponents to a .251 avg. RHP Kevin Tomas is second in the GSC with a 2.84 ERA and 2-0 in nine starts.
* The Blazers are seventh in the GSC with a .958 fielding pct. with 20 double plays, 1.5 errors per game and just nine passed balls.
 
UWF-VSU SERIES HISTORY
* In the last 15 seasons, UWF leads the series 30-21. The Argos are 15-6 at Jim Spooner Field during that time with five series wins in six 3-game sets.
* VSU has won the last six games – all played in Valdosta – while the Blazers had previously won three of the previous four series from 2015-18. From 2011-14, the Argos were 13-3.
 
WHAT'S AT STAKE
* For the second-consecutive year, the teams come into the late-season series as the second and third place teams in the GSC. This year the roles are flipped from 2021, as VSU is in second by a game in the win column.
 
O'SHEA TIED FOR UWF CAREER HOME RUN MARK
* Senior Cullan O'Shea has hit 23 home runs in his three seasons at UWF, tying him with Stephen Jackson for first place in program history. He hit three in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, 11 last season and has a team-high nine this season. The Mobile, Alabama native hit the tying blast at Spring Hill on Tuesday and has sent three out in the last four games and five in the last eight contests.
 
UWF CAREER HOME RUN LEADERS
23 - Stephen Jackson (1995-98)
23 - Cullan O'Shea (2020-Present)
22 - Brett Anderson (1991-92)
22 - Xavier Smith (1998-99)
22 - Greg Pron (2008-11)
21 - Robert Lopez (2016-19)
19 - Nic Strasser (2015-18)
 
UWF'S RECORD WHEN…
* 10-4 when they have 10-plus hits
* 12-2 when they outhit their opponent
* 12-3 when they score first
* 10-5 when they score in the 1st inning
* 12-9 when they turn at least 1 double play