MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Valdosta State baseball team posted a doubleheader sweep at Auburn Montgomery Saturday afternoon as the Blazers won the opener 5-2 and the nightcap 6-1.
VSU improved to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in Gulf South Conference play as it will go for the series sweep Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. AUM fell to 4-8 and 3-2 in league play. The Blazers had 17 hits, scored 11 runs with two doubles, one triple, three home runs and drove in ten in the two victories. Senior
David Maberry went 3 for 7 with two runs scored, one double, two home runs and six RBI to lead the team.
On the mound, the Blazers got quality starts from seniors
Zach Blankenship and
Cooper Cain as Cain went the distance in the nightcap, allowing four hits, one earned run, walked two and fanned nine, while Blankenship went five innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run, walked one and fanned three. Junior
Weston Bizzle earned the save in the opener, pitching the final three innings.
In the opener, VSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on a two-run home run from junior
Jisjar Clotida, his first round-tripper as a Blazer. AUM cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single from Bailey Mosley.
VSU plated three runs in the sixth as senior
Nick Lewis began the frame with a single, followed by Maberry's first blast. Later, junior Ryan DelNegro singled home a run for a 5-1 lead. The Warhawks added a run in the eighth and left two stranded. Hayden Friesen doubled home the run for a 5-2 score.
The Blazers scored five runs on ten hits with two errors in the game, while AUM had two runs on 11 hits and no errors. Senior
Mike Christopoulos, Clotida and senior
Noah Wilkes each had two hits in the game, while Maberry was 1 for 4 with a run scored, two RBI and the home run.
In the nightcap, VSU scored three runs in the third and three more in the fifth as Maberry was 2 for 3 with a run scored, a double and his second home run of the day, while driving in four. Senior
Jowenrick Daantji was 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI, while belting a triple in the contest.
Daantji singled home the first run of the game in the third inning and then Maberry doubled home a run and a miscue plated another run for a 3-0 lead. In the fifth Maberry hit his second home run of the game – a three-run shot for a 6-0 lead.
The Warhawks put two on in the sixth and Dalton Cobb singled home a run, but that'd be all AUM would get.
