VALDOSTA, Ga. - The No. 19 Valdosta State Blazers took the weekend rubber match against Union 14-4 in eight innings at home.
 
The Blazers (13-6, 12-5 Gulf South Conference) had a dominant nine run inning in the bottom of the eighth to force the run rule with a dominant 14 runs. Jowenrick Daantji forced the rule with a walk-off, three run homerun to end the game after Union cut it to a one run game after the top of the eighth. Daantji and David Maberry led the game with three RBI where Logan Stephens led the ballgame with three hits. The Blazers finished Sunday with 12 hits for its 14 runs and played the field perfectly, committing no errors.
 
The Blazers get next weekend off and return to the diamond Tuesday, Mar. 23 at 5 p.m., at home. 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 14, UNION 4 (8 Inn.)
 
After a one-two-three inning for the Bulldogs, Chase Coker got things started with a single through the left side. After Daantji drew a walk, Ryan Delnegro sacrificed the hit to move the base runners up one bag. The sacrifice bunt paid off well for the Blazers as Coker quickly made his way to home off a wild pitch as Daantji also found the plate off an error by the Bulldog catcher. A quick lead gave the Blazers confidence to move along the game.
 
No hits in the third turned to multiple in the fourth as the Bulldogs tacked on a run from two hits. The quick feet of Daantji put himself on first after a bunt followed by a stolen base, putting himself in scoring position. Stephens smacked one towards left center to bring Daantji home and place himself at second. His double put Ben Rowdon in position to mimic what Stephens did with a double of his own, bringing the sole baserunner home. Now up 4-1, the Blazers increased its gap just one batter later after Nick Lewis hammered a single to bring Rowdon across the plate.
 
The Bulldogs tacked on one more in the fifth to make it 5-2 and looked to go on a two-out rally with a deep single to right. Coker, who was playing right field, had other plans as he sent a missile from right field all the way to the plate to get the out at home and end the inning with two left on.
 
Pitching for both teams fared well over the next two innings where both teams only recorded one hit. The Bulldogs broke it up though with a sacrifice fly to bring in the leadoff hitter who reached third off his single and a double right after. An RBI single with one out pushed the game to 5-4, putting the Blazers in a tough situation late. A hit batter followed by a walk jacked the bases with two outs but VSU was able to squeeze out of the inning to leave three runners stranded.
 
The Blazers felt no pressure though as two batters found the base pads off a hit by pitch and a walk. Stephens added another hit with an RBI to give the team a two-run lead. Jordan Holt found the base pads after he was hit by one followed by an RBI walk from Lewis. With the bases loaded, Maberry hit a deep shot down the left field line to clear the bases and to quickly give the Blazers a 10-4 lead. The Blazers kept its foot on the pedal where Jakob Sessa smacked a single up the middle. With two runners on and just one out, Daantji hit a walk off, three-run homerun to finish the game in eight innings, forcing the run rule. The Blazers finished a dominant eighth inning with five hits which accounted for nine runs.