VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Blazers used a tremendous team pitching effort, along with four RBI's from Titletown's own
David Wortham, to land a massive 5-3 regional victory over the No. 3 ranked Tampa Spartan's on Tuesday night in Tampa, Fla.
"It felt great to be back in the lineup tonight and help my team win," said Wortham after the game. "Every guy in the dugout helps each other throughout every game, and I hope our momentum from this win can continue throughout the season."
Valdosta State scored first in the top half of the opening inning after leadoff hitter
Kendall Herron singled, stole second base, and scored on a
Tyler Homer single to put VSU on top 1-0 early.
The lead didn't last long for the Blazers, as VSU starter Daniel Williams gave up two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first. Valdosta State's junior righty settled in after the initial scare, however, and scattered seven additional Tampa hits to limit the damage.
Williams faced trouble after loading the bases to start the sixth on a pair of singles and a hit batsman, which forced Head Coach
Greg Guilliams to call on reliever
Beau Blair. After allowing one RBI single, Blair induced a pop up to third before and forced Tampa to settle for a 3-1 lead by forcing Kevin Santa to hit into an inning ending double play.
The Blazers used the momentum in the next half inning, as
Luke Suchon and
Chipper Andzel teamed up for back-to-back singles to lead off the seventh. Two batters later,
Elias Macias loaded the bases with a single of his own, which set the stage for Wortham, who struck for a 2-run triple to center and tied the game at 3-3. Valdosta State's attempt to take the lead was denied on the play, as Macias was thrown out at the plate as he tried to score from first.
In the bottom half, Tampa put a runner in scoring position with a single and a wild pitch. But Blair recorded two outs before turning the game over to
Cody Harwell, who forced Cosenzo to fly out to center and strand UT's potential go-ahead run at second base.
Quinton Forrester was awarded the win for Valdosta State, after he came on for Harwell to record the final out in the bottom of the eighth, which put Wortham in position to strike again with a two-run no-doubter to left field.
"I tried to stay as relaxed as I could and find a fastball to hit," said Wortham of the pressure situation in the top half of the ninth. "Honestly, I just took the right swing at the right time on the second pitch he threw."
Wortham's homer came against Cheyne Bickel, who entered Tuesday with a sub-2.0 ERA and had not allowed a home run all season. The two-run blast represented the first home run of the Lowndes High graduate's career at VSU, and the swing boosted Wortham's RBI total to six on the season.
Roman Donofro came on in the bottom of the ninth to slam the door and pick up his first save of the season. The win for VSU pushed Guilliams' squad out to an 18-9 overall record, while the Spartans fell to 19-6 on the year.
Valdosta State's next matchup will take place on Saturday in the first game of a three-game weekend set against the Lee Flames in Cleveland, Tenn. Visit
www.vstateblazers.com to catch all of the action, and don't forget to tune in each Tuesday to The Morning Drive on Fox Sports Radio 1150AM/96.1FM, where Phil Jones and Dick Rockey host the weekly "Blazer Hour" at 8:00 a.m. to discuss all of the excitement surrounding Blazer Athletics.
