DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Valdosta State baseball team split a doubleheader on the final day of a three-game weekend of non-conference action in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Sunday.
The Blazers dropped a 6-5 heartbreaker to the Embry-Riddle Eagles before closing out the day with a dominant 8-1 victory over the Armstrong State Pirates in the nightcap. The split moved Valdosta State to 3-1 on the young season, while Embry Riddle improved to 1-0 and ASU fell to 1-2 on the year.
In game one, the Blazers took the first lead of the game in the top half of the third inning, when Harlon Harris belted a double to right to lead off the inning before moving up on a
Ryan Slaughter sacrifice bunt and scoring from third base on a
Mason Miller sacrifice fly.
Trailing 1-0, the Eagles fired back with a three run bottom half of the third inning, but the Blazers tied the contest up with one run in each of the next two innings and added on in the seventh inning with a two-run single to claim a 5-3 advantage.
The Eagles would not be denied, however, as Justin Franklin and Cody Bogart teamed up to drive in three runs in the bottom half of the eighth to overcome VSU's lead and claim the victory.
Valdosta State recovered nicely in the second game of the day, due in large part to a four-run fifth inning.
Luke Suchon sparked the onslaught with a single to left to start the inning before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Murray followed with an RBI single, and both
BJ White and
Clint Carr drove in a run later in the inning to account for two of the runs scored in the inning.
The Blazers added three more runs in the top of the sixth to extend VSU's run total to eight, which easily offset the one unearned run allowed by
Daniel Williams. Williams went the distance in the contest to pick up his first win of the season, allowing just seven hits with no walks.
The game one loss went to
Tristan Cone, who evened up his record at 1-1.
Valdosta State returns to action on Tuesday in Albany, Ga. with the team's second matchup of the year against the Golden Rams. First pitch is slated for 4:00 p.m.
