Melbourne, Fla. – The Valdosta State baseball team picked up a huge non-conference victory in Melbourne, Fla. on Saturday evening with a thrilling 2-1 win over No. 5 ranked Catawba.
 
Serving as the visiting team in the neutral site contest, Valdosta State got on the board early after Dalton Duty walked and stole second to set the table for the reigning Gulf South Conference Player of the Week, Marcus Sigmon, who ripped a double down the left field line to put VSU up 1-0.
 
Blazer starter Mitchell Cody took it from there, holding the Indians off long enough to allow the Blazers to tack on an additional run in the top half of the fifth. Clint Carr led off the inning for Valdosta State with another walk, and Scott Mathews moved him up with a sacrifice bunt. Duty jumped on the opportunity with an 0-1 single back through the box, which brought Carr into score and gave the Blazers a critical insurance run and a 2-0 lead.
 
Cody allowed back-to-back hits in the sixth, the second of which was an RBI double by Catawba's Kyle Smith, before giving way to Roman Donofro, who teamed up with Colby Wisdom in relief to blank the Indians through the eighth.
 
In the final frame, Dustin Hersey came on for the Blazers to strike out the side, pick up his second save of the season, and secure the victory for Cody, who improved to 2-0 with the big win.
 
The victory boosted the Blazers to 6-2 overall on the year, while Catawba fell to 2-3 on the young 2016 season.
 
Valdosta State returns to action tomorrow to face Florida Tech, with live coverage available at www.vstateblazers.com, and a live audio broadcast on Fox Sports Radio in Valdosta (1150AM/96.1FM). First pitch is slated for 4:00 p.m. in Melbourne, Fla.