VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State Blazers swept the Tigers on a walk-off error to close out its series against UWA 4-3.
 
The Blazers (17-12, 15-11 Gulf South Conference) were led by Nick Lewis once again who finished the day with two hits. David Maberry and EJ Doskow were the sole Blazers who recorded a RBI during the low scoring win with one each. VSU jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first but its bats fell flat after that, only recording one hit through six innings. The Tigers put the pressure on as it scored one in the second followed by a pair of runs in the fifth to tie things up at three. VSU was able to jack the bases in the ninth with one more out to work with before extras where Logan Stephens was able to end things off a forced error, driving home Ben Rowdon. In total, VSU recorded five hits off 29 at-bats as UWA beat out VSU with its eight hits off 31 at-bats. VSU left 11 runners stranded while UWA only left seven on the base pads.
 
The Blazers return home next weekend for a series against West Georgia starting at 2 p.m. Saturday, Apr. 17. The Blazers wrap up its weekend series with a single game the following Sunday with first pitch at 1 p.m. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and ticket information for the games at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.
 
VALDOSTA STATE 4, WEST ALABAMA 3
 
The Blazers had an unusual first inning which started off with a Rowdon walk who was able to find third quickly off a stolen base and a passed ball. Lewis and Jowenrick Daantji were also walked to jack the bases with no outs in the first. Maberry came up to the plate with an opportunity to put a run on the board, which he did, sending one high into center field for a sacrifice fly. Another forced walk saw the Tigers starting pitcher leave the mound where his replacement came in and gave up a sacrifice fly of his own. With runners at first and third now, the Tigers pitcher balked which pushed the runner at third home to put the Blazers up 3-0 after the first inning with no recorded hits. West Alabama was able to answer with one run the following inning, as well as two more in the fifth to tie things up.
 
The Blazers looked to take advantage of an error in the fifth where Jacob Harper reached second with no outs. The Tigers picked up the pace though where it retired the next three batters to leave Harper stranded. The Blazers were struggling offensively as it didn't record its second hit until the seventh inning.
 
Neither team was able to break the stalemate after eight innings which put the game on the line in a crucial ninth inning. With the pressure on for both teams, pitcher Jakob Barker handled it with ease as he struck out the three batters he faced. VSU looked to end it in nine as Rowdon sent one shallow to right field for a single, looking for someone to drive him in. Rowdon found second where Lewis was able to push him to third off a late throw to put the scoring run 90 feet away with one out. Chase Coker hit a soft one to the pitcher who couldn't make the play at home as Rowdon stayed at third which jacked the bases. After a strikeout, the Blazers had one out to end the game in nine as Stephens came up to the plate. On a 0-1 count, Stephens hit one hard towards the shortstop which looked to be the third out, but the Tigers committed an error to close the game on a walk-off, the Blazers second of the series, to win 4-3.