VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State baseball team suffered a Saturday sweep on their home turf (6-0, 6-3) in Gulf South Conference action against the Mississippi College Choctaws on Saturday in Valdosta, Ga.
Valdosta State's
Hunter Jones and Mississippi College's Hunter Lacefield duked it out on the hill during the contest for the first six innings of the game, as both held their opponents scoreless during the stretch.
The difference came in the top of the seventh inning, however, when Hunter Austin doubled to start a rally for the Choctaws that led to four runs on five hits and one Blazer error. The biggest blow in the inning came from Kyle Smith, who slapped a single up the middle with the bases loaded. The two-run knock gave MC a 2-0 lead and sparked the scoring surge.
Jones was forced to exit midway through the frame, and the Blazer offense was never able to recover. As a result, Jones suffered just his second loss of the season and fell to 5-2 on the year. After the Choctaws gave him a lead, Lacefield turned the game over to Tim Holloway, who secured the final three innings to notch a save and help Lacefield pick up the win and improve to 3-1 on the year.
The Blazer offense came alive in game two and slugged 10 base hits in the contest. Valdosta State struggled to find the clutch hit, however, and left 12 men on base over the course of the seven inning affair.
In contrast, the Choctaws plated six runs on 12 hits, which helped MC overcome a three-run surge by the Blazers during the final two innings of the game.
Austin Hamilton suffered the loss after pitching the entire seven innings. His record fell to 3-5 on the year, while Hunter Mullis recorded 4.1 innings of work and allowed five hits while holding the Blazers scoreless. Mullis' record improved to 3-2 on the season.
With the sweep, the Choctaws improved to 12-18 overall on the season and lifted their conference record to 9-10. Meanwhile, the Blazers fell to 21-12 and dropped to 11-9 in league action.
Valdosta State will aim to turn the tables in the series finale, which is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday afternoon at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park.
