VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State baseball team split its home series opener with Gulf South Conference foe Alabama Huntsville Saturday, Feb. 19. The Blazers won game one 7-0 and lost game two 8-5. The Blazers moved to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in the GSC while the Chargers moved to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the GSC.
 
The Blazers finish up their series with Alabama Huntsville tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 20, at 1 p.m. at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park.
 
Game One (VSU 7, UAH, 0)
The Blazers started off strong with three runs in the first inning as junior David Crawford and junior Ryan Romano both got on from singles and scored from a double down the left field line by junior EJ Doskow. Doskow then scored from an RBI groundout.
 
Valdosta State added three more in the third as Crawford, Romano, and Doskow all scored again. The Chargers were unable to get any across the plate while the Blazers added one more in the eighth while Romano scored for the third time, before the inning finished. The Blazers took the first game 7-0. 
 
Leading the Blazer offense was Romano as he went 3-3 at the plate with one walk and three runs. Following close behind was Doskow and Crawford as they both went 2-4 and tallied a double, scored twice, and Doskow recorded three RBI. Junior Byrson Gandy also tallied a hit for the Blazers.
 
Senior Elijah Gill started on the mound and took the win for the Blazers (2-1). He threw 7 innings and recorded six strikeouts and gave up eight hits and walked one. Sophomore Scott Curran relieved Gill and threw 2 innings as he recorded three strikeouts and only gave up one hit and one walk.
 
Game Two (UAH 8, VSU 5)
The Blazers got out front in the first with a two-run home run by Doskow with Romano on base. Valdosta State scored once more in the third and again in the fourth as Romano and Gandy crossed home plate.
 
The Chargers added one in the fourth before their comeback in the sixth inning where they tallied seven runs and made the score 8-4. In that single inning, the Chargers tallied six hits and one left on base. 
 
Valdosta State also added one run in the sixth as Gandy walked and scored again but the Blazers could not get more across the plate as the Chargers took the second game 8-5.
 
Leading the Blazer offense was Doskow as he went 2-4 at the dish with one double, one home run, two RBI, and scored once. Gandy also helped as he went 2-2, walked once, scored twice, and had three stolen bases. Romano, redshirt junior Ralph Moral Jr., and redshirt senior Luke Ard also tallied hits for the Blazers.
 
Sophomore JJ Finn started on the mound for the Blazers and threw five innings, struck out three, and gave up six hits and three runs. Junior Zach Henderson relieved Finn and recorded the loss for the Blazers (1-1). Henderson walked one and gave up one hit and two runs. Sophomore Nick Ferrara, sophomore Raymond Fields, and junior Mason Sharp also treaded the rubber for the Blazers.
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com throughout the season for more information on Blazer baseball.