CLEVELAND, Miss. - The No. 7 ranked Delta State Statesmen overcame a strong Valdosta State offensive outing to topple the Blazers 19-17 on the third day of the Gulf South Conference Tournament in Cleveland, Miss. on Monday.

The Statesmen, who clinched a spot in the GSC Championship as the winners of Pool A in the two-pool tournament, will advance to Tuesday's final against West Alabama. Meanwhile, the Blazers dropped to 33-20 overall and saw their bid for a conference championship come to an end.

With the contest tied at 3-3 after three innings, the Blazers exploded for 13 runs on nine hits in top of the fourth inning. The Blazers sent 16 batters to the plate in the half inning and five of the team's nine hits were for extra bases. Furthermore, both BJ White and Tyler Homer hit grand slams in the inning, with White's round-tripper marking his second of the tournament.

The wild contest quickly took a sour turn for the Blazers, as VSU's lead evaporated with 16 runs scored by the Statesmen over the next three innings to put Delta State back on top 19-16.

Valdosta State put together a threat in the top of the ninth, but Clint Carr's RBI was all the Blazers could muster, as Delta State's Zack Shannon induced a Kendall Herron groundout and picked up his first save of the season when he left two Blazer baserunners stranded to end the game.

The Blazers entered the GSC Tournament as the No. 5 ranked team in the South Region and will need to hold one of the top seven spots after three straight losses in order to land a spot in the NCAA South Region Tournament. The NCAA Division II Baseball Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, May 14 at 10:00 p.m. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available at www.vstateblazers.com.