MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Valdosta State baseball team took their opening Gulf South Conference series against the Christian Brothers Bucs with a 13-7 rubber match victory on Sunday afternoon in Memphis, Tenn.
 
The red hot Luke Suchon improved his batting average in 2017 to a league-leading .578 after recording five hits in six plate appearances during Sunday's contest. The first baseman finished a home run shy of the cycle and recorded three RBI's with a run scored to help fuel the Blazers' offensive production.
 
In addition, Valdosta State's Kendall Herron, Ryan Slaughter, and Tyler Homer teamed up as VSU's one, two, and three hitters in the lineup for four stolen bases, collectively, and accounted for six of VSU's 15 hits. Cody Ilgenfritz also went 3-for-6 with a stolen base.
 
The Blazers scored runs in four of the first five innings of the game, and the team took the lead for good after Slaughter drove in Herron from right field in the fifth inning, before Dalton Murray plated both Suchon and Slaughter with a two-run double.
 
The three runs put Valdosta State in front 9-6, and allowed Hunter Jones to come on in the bottom half of the inning for three scoreless innings. Jones' effort notched the junior his first win of the season, and lifted the Blazers to a 9-3 overall record and a 2-1 record in conference play. The Bucs, meanwhile, fell to 5-7 overall and 1-2 against GSC opponents.
 
Next up for Valdosta State, it's a midweek home matchup against Augusta at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday at Billy Grant Field in Valdosta, Ga.