VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State baseball team opened up Gulf South Conference play on a sour note, as the No. 6 ranked Delta State Statesmen came from behind twice to score a pair of victories (13-11, 7-6) over the Blazers on Saturday at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park in Valdosta, Ga.
After allowing Delta State to score the first run of game one in the top of the first inning, the Blazers hung a three spot on the Statesmen in the bottom of the fourth with three base hits and pair of walks. D.J. King started the rally with a leadoff double to left center, and Luke Suchon delivered a single to right two batters later. With runners at the corners, Dalton Duty and Andrew Williamson drew back-to-back walks to tie the score. Elias Macias then ripped a clutch two-run single back through the box to put VSU on top 3-1.
One inning later, the Blazers piled on with a pair of unearned runs thanks to a two-out miscue by Delta State shortstop Justin Nussbaum. The two runs gave Valdosta State a 5-1 advantage, which lasted until the Statesmen put two across in the top half of of the eighth to pull to within two at 5-3.
In the final inning of regulation, DSU sent 12 men to the plate and posted six runs on six hits and just one error. The barrage put the Statesmen on top 9-5, but the Blazers didn't quit. In fact, with the help of doubles by both BJ White and King and two additional hits by Williamson and Suchon, Valdosta State returned fire in the bottom of the frame to tie the game up at 9-9 in the bottom of the ninth.
Following one scoreless inning in the tenth, Delta State used two hits and an assortment of walks and wild pitches to plate four in the top of the 11th. Valdosta State brought two across in the bottom of the frame, thanks to a two-run shot by Aaron Haughton, but the Statesmen allowed no more and claimed the wild win.
Game two was all Blazers early, as Haughton homered again in the first inning before King left the yard in the second. The pair of homers fueled the Blazers to a 5-0 lead after two innings of play, and after DSU scored two in the top of the fourth, the Blazers added another run on a Luke Suchon RBI double to left field.
The insurance runs proved to hold a hefty amount of a weight, as Delta State scored four runs on four hits to tie the game in the top of the fifth. The abbreviated seven-inning nightcap was lengthened after a lighting malfunction at Billy Grant Field in the top of the sixth, and the Statesmen scored their decisive run in the top of the seventh after Clay Casey doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored the game winner on another wild pitch.
Logan Elliot suffered the loss in game two, while Cooper Cain took the extra-inning loss to fall to 1-1 on the year. The Blazers are now 6-7 overall and 0-2 in conference play, while the Statesmen lifted their record to 10-1 overall 2-0 against league opponents.
The Blazers will aim to bounce back and salvage the series on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. against Delta State at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park.
