CARROLLTON, Ga. – Valdosta State took an early lead over the Wolves of West Georgia during the fourth inning of the series finale on Sunday afternoon, but UWG came alive on offense in the bottom half of the same inning and scored runs in each of their final five frames to down the Blazers 7-3 at Cole Field in Carrollton, Ga.
The Gulf South Conference loss dropped the Blazers to 24-15 overall and 15-10 in GSC play, while the Wolves improved to 30-10 overall and 18-9 against league opponents.
After starter
Kyle Andre blanked West Georgia for the first three frames, the Valdosta State offense struck first in the fourth after
Marcus Sigmon ripped a leadoff double, advanced on a
Ryan Smith ground ball and scored from third on a sacrifice fly ball to left field off the bat of
Jaykob Graham.
Valdosta State's one run advantage was erased in the bottom of the same inning after the Wolves used a leadoff single by Tyler Hutch and a double by Drew Eady to set the table for Ben Utley, who drove Hutch in from third with a ground ball to second base.
The 1-1 tie held until the bottom of the fifth, when Dalton Rogers clubbed a three-run home run to center field. The homer ended the day for Andre, who ultimately suffered the loss to fall to 3-3 on the season.
Valdosta State closed the gap to 6-3 with a pair of runs in the top half of the eighth inning, when
Dalton Duty led off the frame with a walk and advanced to second on a
Tyler York single down the right field line. Sigmon followed with an RBI single, and Graham delivered his second sacrifice fly ball of the day after York moved up to third on a passed ball.
UWG starter Josh Morgan teamed up with Mitchell Mannino to limit the Blazers to three runs on the day, while the West Georgia offense strung together 12 hits to drive their offensive attack. Morgan picked up the win after 7.0 inning of work and improved to 4-0 on the year.
Valdosta State will have a chance to return to form next weekend against the Delta State Statesmen with a three game set in Cleveland, Miss. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, with first pitch slated for 3:00 p.m. EST.
