ROME, Ga. - The No. 19 Valdosta State baseball team came out on top during its rubber match against Shorter by a final score of 6-5, taking two games of the weekend series.
 
The Blazers (8-4, 7-4 Gulf South Conference) bounced back after a 9-0 loss the day before to take game three of the weekend series 6-5 with help from strong pitching and clutch hits. Zach Blankenship got the nod for the first time after his one hit, complete game shutout and gave up just two hits and two runs - both earned. Nick Lewis led the team with three hits and tied with Ben Rowdon with two RBI. Collin Teegarden hit a clutch homerun in the top of the eighth to extend its lead large enough for Jakob Barker to come in during the bottom of the ninth and retire the only three batters he saw. The Blazers finished with 11 hits on the day and played the field perfectly with no errors.
 
The Blazers remain on the road to face Montevallo with a single game set for Friday, Mar. 5 at 6 p.m. E.T., and a doubleheader the following day with first pitch set for 2 p.m. E.T. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and ticket information for the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.
 
#19 VALDOSTA STATE 6, SHORTER 5
 
Both starting pitchers were dealing early on, where Blankenship threw two quick innings to bring up the Blazers in the top of the third to get things started. Rowdon was able to reach first off an error by the first baseman as Lewis was able to drive him in with a deep double towards the right field wall. After the Hawks were able to get its second out, EJ Doskow added an RBI of his own through the gap to bring in Lewis and give the Blazers an early 2-0 lead.
 
The momentum didn't stop there as the Blazers were able to add a pair of runs the following inning with a deep single from Rowdon to bring in Ryan Delnegro and Teegarden with two down, extending the lead now to 4-0.
 
Blankenship was dialed in as he only gave up one walk with three strikeouts through four innings with no hits, giving up just one hit in his last 13 innings. The Hawks were able to break through during the fifth with a lead-off single where the runner eventually found third base off a sacrifice bunt and a ground out to put himself in scoring position. The Hawks added its first run of the game off a passed ball and cut its deficit to just three after five innings.
 
Rowdon played the base pads well as he stole second after he drew a walk to put himself in scoring position for Lewis who was able to drive him in to put the Blazer lead to four. The Hawks got hot during the sixth as it hit a two-run homerun with two outs followed by an RBI double to make it a 5-4 game late.
 
Teegarden added a much-needed insurance run with a lead-off homerun in the top of the eighth to put the Blazers ahead two which would end up being the last run for the Blazers.
 
The Hawks put the pressure on the Blazers after a lead-off double followed by an RBI single with no outs to make it a one-run ballgame. Barker came in for relief and was able to get out of the jam, forcing two strikeouts and a ground out to give the Blazers the 6-5 win.