VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Alabama-Huntsville Chargers avoided a Valdosta State baseball sweep on Sunday afternoon after scoring two runs in the ninth to edge out the Blazers for a 7-5 Gulf South Conference victory at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park in Valdosta, Ga.

After a starter Colton Chupp walked the first batter and gave up back to back base hits in the top of the first, Valdosta State went straight to Joseph Watson in the bullpen. Watson followed up with a rocky start and gave up two hits and a walk before inducing a pair of ground balls for a double play and an out to third base.

The Chargers used the four first inning hits to open up an early 4-0 lead, but the Blazers tightened the gap in the bottom of the same inning with two runs on three singles.

While the Blazers added a run in the fourth on an Aaron Haughton homer and plated two more in the bottom of the fifth Valdosta State pitching proceeded to lock down the Charger offense for five straight innings.

Trailing 5-4 in the 7th, UAH got a clutch, game-tying homer from AJ Walden on the very first at-bat of the frame. The score remained locked at 5-5 until the top of the 9th, when the Chargers capitalized on a hit batsman and a Blazer error for two late runs for a 7-5 lead that VSU was unable to overcome.

The loss went to Logan Elliot, while UAH reliever Dylan Murphy benefited from the late rally for his first win of the season. Valdosta State fell to 9-13 overall and 3-6 in conference play, while the Chargers improved to 10-8 overall and 5-4 against league opponents.

The Blazers fell despite 10 hits in the game, including multiple hits by Kendall Herron, Dalton Murray, Andrew Williamson, and Haughton. AJ Walden led the way for UAH with three runs and two RBI's.

The Blazers will return to action next weekend in Montgomery, Ala. against the Auburn-Montgomery Warhawks. The three-game series is set to begin on Friday, March 16th with a single game at 6:00 p.m. EST.