OXFORD, Ala. –  The Montevallo baseball team enters the Gulf South Conference tournament as the No. 5 seed and is set to face No. 4 seeded Valdosta State, Friday, May 3, at 4 p.m. at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.
 
The Falcons closed out the regular season with a 2-1 series win over No. 21 and No. 2 seeded AUM, to earn the No. 5 seed. Valdosta State took the series 201 over West Georgia, landing the No. 4 seed.
 
Friday's matchup marks the fourth meeting of the year between the Falcons and Blazers, with VSU taking the regular season series, 2-1.
 
Since the tournament moved to Choccolocco Park in 2019, the Falcons are just 3-6 and have not faced Valdosta State in the postseason.
 
With its third consecutive season of 17 or more conference wins, the Falcons reached the GSC tournament for the third straight time.
 
GAME INFORMATION
 
WHO: No. 5 Montevallo 27-21 (17-13 GSC) | No. 4 Valdosta State 26-18 (18-12)
WHEN: Friday, May 3, 4 p.m. (Game three)
WHERE: Choccolocco Park | Oxford, Alabama

 
Scouting Montevallo:

This season, the Falcons compiled 27 wins, including 17 in conference for the third-straight conference tournament appearance.
 
The 2024 slate saw a challenging schedule for the Falcons that featured nine ranked games. In those contests, the Falcons went 5-4 – including a series sweep over No. 23 Northwood and No. 21 AUM.

After a non-ideal start to the year, the Falcons found consistency with eight-straight wins in February. The streak was snapped, however, once conference play began. In a rubber match against West Georgia on Mar. 10, the Falcons' offense exploded for a 22-6 win that sparked a new streak of seven-consecutive conference wins from Mar. 10 to Mar. 29. During that stretch, the Falcons turned in road sweeps against Mississippi College and UAH.
The final two games of the VSU series saw the conference win streak end and was the beginning of five straight conference losses. Once again, though, UM bounced back winning two of its final three series.
 
The strong finish began with a 2-1 series win over West Florida, culminating with the series win over AUM.
 
In the regular season, the Falcons featured one of the top-five pitching staffs in the league with a 5.36 ERA as a team. A combined 352 strikeouts as a team is the third most in the league.
 
Along with the solid performances on the mound this season, UM's defense has helped the squad's success with a .969 fielding percentage and the fourth fewest errors, 51.
 
The Falcons' offense has been streaky throughout the year and carries a .291 batting average. However, Montevallo's ticket to success this season has been capitalizing on its opponent's mistakes and earning free bases. In two-out situations this season, the Falcons are batting .315  As a team, UM has totaled 212 walks this season and is second in the GSC with 103 hit-by-pitches. Lastly, UM's 55 homers is the fourth most in the GSC this season.

Scouting Valdosta State:
 
Similar to the Falcons, Valdosta State has ebbed and flowed this season, but its offense has been consistent throughout. The Blazers are the top offensive team in the GSC with a .329 batting average. Additionally, the Blazers has totaled 97 doubles and have a league-best .442 on-base percentage.
 
VSU's pitching staff is towards the top of the league as well with a 4.97 ERA. Despite having one of the lowest strikeout totals in the league, the Blazers hold one of the best walk-to-strikeout ratios at 1.6.  


The achilles heel of the Blazers this season has been its defense. VSU's .952 fielding percentage ranks 12^th in the league as they have totaled 74 errors.
 
Series History Against Valdosta State:
 
Since 2018, Valdosta State leads the series 10-4. The two sides met in the regular season this year for the first time since 2022, with the Blazers taking the series 2-1. Montevallo opened the series with a 7-6 win in game one, but VSU topped the Falcons 12-11 in extra innings and 9-3 to take the series. Friday's contest marks the first neutral site meeting between the two squads since UM's return to the GSC in 2018.
 
 
Montevallo Player Highlights:
With his play in the final series of the regular season, Logan Harbin has emerged as UM's batting leader as he is hitting .346 from the plate. The first baseman also leads the team in RBI with 45 and is tied for the lead in homers, alongside Ethan Huddleston, with nine.
 
Connor Crowson sits just behind Harbin with a .335 batting average at the plate and is UM's leader with a .459 on base percentage and 33 base-on-balls.
 
Landon Leake, who has played in 33 games this season, currently holds a .400 batting average and is one of UM's hottest bats of late. Leake enters the GSC tourney on a five-game hitting streak and is batting .451 in the month of April.
 
On the mound, the Falcons have been led by a host of talented hurlers, highlighted by Gino Cozzi. The Downers Grove, Illinois native holds a team-best 4.48 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and is 6-3 on the year with 53 strikeouts. Logan Samuels holds a team-high 66 K's this season while lefty starter Adiel Melendez has allowed just one run in each of his last three starts and holds a 4.77 ERA.
 
In the bullpen, the combination of Connor Phelan, Chris Foster, Dawson Hargrove and freshman Zach Wyatt have led the way. Fosters boasts a team-leading seven saves and Hargove holds a team-best 1.86 ERA. Of the relievers, Phelan holds the most wins with five and has struck out 32 batters in 33 innings pitched. Wyatt has provided dominant stretches at times this season with 28 K's, a win and a save.
 
 
Valdosta State Player Highlights:
 
Dennis Pierce leads VSU with a .400 batting average this year and is sixth in the league. Pierce also has driven in a league-high 65 runs on 13 homers and 11 doubles.