VALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State rolled to a 7-2 victory in game one before allowing seven unearned runs in an 8-7 loss in the second game as the Blazers split a Gulf South Conference baseball doubleheader with West Georgia at Billy Grant Field Friday afternoon.
 
The two pitchers dominated the first four and a half innings of the game as Valdosta State (23-14, 14-10) managed just three hits during the first four innings while West Georgia (25-12, 17-9) got just one hit.
 
The Blazers collected seven straight hits in the bottom of the fifth inning to open the scoring. With one out in the frame, Jayk Graham tallied a double before B.J. Harmon followed with an infield single. Mike Reed drove Graham home with a single and scored along with Harmon as Michael Gouge followed with a double. Hayden Jones, who collected two of the first three hits of the game for VSU, tallied his third single of the contest to put runners on the corners and Bryant Hayman cleared the bases as he followed with his 10^th home run of the season that gave VSU a 6-0 lead.
 
UWG got a run in the top of the sixth when Tyler Hutch doubled to open the inning and scored on a Sumner McWhorter single, only to have Graham double and eventually score on a Reed sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame to keep the Blazers in front by six runs.
 
The Wolves got their final run in the top of the ninth inning as Artemis Kakhodian reached on a lead-off walk and scored on a two-out single by Troy Brown.
 
Mitchell Cody allowed four hits and walked three to go along with six strike outs in 6.1 innings to improve to 7-1 on the season while Sexton surrendered 11 hits and seven runs in 5.0 innings to fall to 6-3.
 
Jones led VSU offensively in the game as he was 3-for-4 while Hayman was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Cruz and Graham also had two hits each.
 
Valdosta State took advantage of a West Georgia in the bottom of the first inning of game two to jump out to a 2-0 lead. With two outs in the inning, Jones and Hayman reached on back-to-back singles before Cruz reached on a fielding error that allowed Jones to score. Zac Goodno followed with a single to right that plated Hayman for the second run of the inning.
 
The Blazers tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the second inning. Graham and Ryan Smith each singled to open the inning while Reed drove in Graham with a single. Gouge was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Jones singled home Smith before Cruz collected a two-out single that plated both Reed and Gouge to put VSU in front 6-0.
 
UWG got a run back in the top of the third inning and took advantage of three VSU errors in the fourth inning to score six unearned runs take a 7-6 lead.
 
VSU evened the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the sixth inning as Gouge hit his eighth home run of the year, only to have West Georgia regain the lead in the top of the seventh as Dalton Rogers reached on a lead-off double and score when Garrett Hayes followed with a single to center.
 
Chris Burdette improved to 3-0 on the season as he allowed one hit and a run in 1.1 innings while VSU's Kyle Andre surrendered eight hits and eight runs, only one earned, in a complete game as he fell to 4-4.
 
Gouge was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one RBI in the contest while Jones finished the contest 2-for-4.
 
The two teams conclude the three-game series Saturday with a single game beginning at Noon.