DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Valdosta State baseball team opened the 2022 season with a doubleheader sweep of Embry-Riddle Friday afternoon.  VSU won the opener 3-2 and then scored in six of the seven innings in the nightcap for a 13-5 victory.   The series concludes Saturday with a single game beginning at 1 p.m.  Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the game at vstateblazers.com on the baseball schedule page.
 
For the doubleheader, the Blazers recorded 18 hits, 16 runs, one double, two triples, one home run and drove in 11 as the team hit .300 for the twin bill.  The staff boasted a 2.50 ERA in 14 innings, allowing nine hits, seven runs – five earned, walked seven and fanned 16 as the Eagles hit just .180.
 
Offensively, junior EJ Doskow went 4 for 7 with one double, two runs scored, one home run and six RBI for the doubleheader, while junior Ryan Romano was 3 for 9 with two runs scored.  Junior David Crawford, sophomore Carson Neal and junior Ralph Morla, Jr., each had two hits for the day.
 
VALDOSTA STATE 3, EMBRY-RIDDLE 2 (GAME ONE)
In the opener, the Blazers broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third with a two run single down the left field line from Doskow, plating two runs courtesy of a miscue by the Eagles.  Blazer senior starter Eljah Gill continued his strong start, retiring the Eagles in order in the third inning and fanned two in the fourth.  
 
The game remained 2-0 heading to the seventh as Gill was in complete command through the first six innings.  In the top of the seventh, Morla, Jr., singled up the middle with one out and a fielder's choice got the second out, but the all-important insurance run came as Romano singled through the left side and advanced to second on a miscue by ERAU.  A wild pitch on the Eagles plated the third run of the game for a 3-0 lead. 
 
In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Scott Curran replaced Gill on the mound.  ERAU drew a walk and an infield single, as junior Zach Henderson replaced Curran.  Henderson fanned his first batter, but Kevin Vittoria doubled to left field, plating a run.  A walk loaded the bases and Andrew Martinez hit a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 score.  Henderson got the final out on a ground out to third on a 1-2 count for the victory. 
 
Henderson picked up the save as Gill (1-0) went six innings, allowing one hit, walked two and fanned nine in a standout start.  Henderson pitched the final three outs, walking one and fanning one.  Romano went 3 for 4 in his Blazer debut with one run scored, while Morla, Jr., was 2 for 3 with a run scored.  Doskow finished 1 for 3 with two RBI.
 
VALDOSTA STATE 13, EMBRY-RIDDLE 5 (GAME TWO)
The Blazers' offense didn't waste any time in the nightcap as Doskow continued his strong day with a two RBI double to center in the first inning and a wild pitch plated graduate student Mike Christopoulos, while senior Luke Ard hit a sacrifice fly for a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
 
The Blazers added two more runs in the second on a RBI triple from sophomore Preston Joye and a sacrifice fly from junior David Crawford for a 6-0 score.   A wild pitch plated a run in the third and a two run home run on a 2-0 count from Doskow in the fourth made the score 9-0 in favor of the red and black.
 
ERAU got on the board in the bottom of the inning on a passed ball, but Ard drilled a triple to right plating a run for a 10-1 score in the fifth.  ERAU added a run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly and tallied two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two run home run from AJ Marinello for a 10-4 score.  The Blazers added three runs in the top of the seventh for a 13-4 lead and ERAU finished the scoring in the bottom of the inning with a run for a 13-5 final.  
 
VSU finished with 13 runs on nine hits with nine RBI in the contest as Doskow was 3 for 4 with two runs scored, a home run and four RBI to lead the team.  Blazer sophomore JJ Finn (1-0) went five innings, allowing three hits, two runs scored – one earned, walked two and fanned six on the mound to earn the victory.