Valdosta State Southpaws

Waynesboro, Virginia
The Blazers of Valdosta State University will send 2 left-handers to eat up some innings for this year’s General pitching staff. Valdosta competes in the Gulf South Conference in NCAA Division II, and will begin their conference tournament this Friday as the 6th seed. Valdosta State finished 27-19 overall and 14-12 in a strong conference that saw their top 7 teams with a winning percentage of at least .517. Alex Tyson and Zach Blankenship are the lefties making their way up from Valdosta, Georgia.

Alex Tyson – Left-Handed Pitcher

Alex Tyson is the son of Maria and Jim Tyson of Madison, Florida. The 5’9 190 pound junior lefty is in his first season with the Blazers after he transferred in from Pensacola State College. At Pensacola, Alex was an absolute inning-eater. In 19 career starts, he recorded five complete games. That means Alex was good for a complete game once about every four starts. In the present era we live in today where so much is made over pitch counts, the number of complete games is staggering in his first two years. In order to be in position to throw those type of performances, a pitcher has to pound the zone with strikes on the regular. In almost 113 innings, Alex only issued 23 walks. Currently at Valdosta State, Alex has a record of 2-0 over a total of 30 innings with an ERA of just under four. The coaching staff and fans should look forward to the strike-throwing machine toeing the rubber. Welcome to Waynesboro, Alex Tyson!

Zach Blankenship – Left-Handed Pitcher

Zach Blankenship is a 6’0 200 pound lefty from Fleming Island, Florida. He is currently in his first year with Valdosta State after going to St. John’s River Community College out of high school. At SJRCC, Zach was teammates with two year General, Joey Bellini. In Zach’s most recent year at St John’s River, he was able to compile a 2-1 record over 24 innings with 28 strikeouts. Now at Valdosta, Zach has more than doubled his innings pitched this year. In 60 innings, he’s only allowed 51 hits, 27 earned runs, and has struck out 64 batters. His ERA currently sits just a few ticks over four. He has had some ace-like performances for the Blazers this year. He threw eight shutout innings in a start vs Montevallo and followed that up with a two-hit nine strikeout game against Christian Brothers. We look forward to the excitement that Zach can generate on the mound. Welcome to Waynesboro, Zach Blankenship!