CLEVELAND, Miss. – The No. 24 Valdosta State baseball team split a doubleheader at Delta State Saturday afternoon. The Statesmen won the opener 6-2, while VSU won the nightcap 6-0 to win the series.
The Blazers improved to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in Gulf South Conference play, while Delta State moved to 5-7 overall and 1-2 in league play. The series victory for VSU is the first since 2017 against DSU.
DELTA STATE 6, #24 VALDOSTA STATE 2 (GAME ONE)
In the opener, the Statesmen came out firing on all cylinders, using a leadoff single, followed by an RBI double, an infield RBI single and a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead. DSU's hurler Kameron Koch retired the 11 Blazers of the game until graduate student
JP Gates singled to right field with two away in the fourth. Sophomore
Hunter Stowe tripled to center field, plating Gates for a 3-1 deficit. In the fifth, sophomore
Jovanni Canegitta singled up the middle, followed by a single from junior
Jacob Harper and a sacrifice bunt moved them to second and third. Junior
David Crawford grounded out, plating Canegitta for a 3-2 deficit.
In the bottom of the fifth, a one out double from Carson Clowers and a Brendan McCauley RBI single gave DSU a 4-2 lead. A fielder's choice RBI gave DSU its second run of the inning and a 5-2 lead. An RBI double followed for a 6-2 DSU lead through five innings. Both teams had runners on in the sixth, but were unable to score.
Neither team scored more in the contest as DSU won the first game of the doubleheader, 6-2. VSU finished with two runs on six hits, while DSU had six runs on 14 hits. Senior
Kevin Tomas (2-1) took the loss, while Koch (1-0) earned the win. Gates finished the game 2 for 4 with a run scored, while Stowe was 1 for 3 with an RBI, a walk and a triple.
#24 VALDOSTA STATE 6, DELTA STATE 0 (GAME TWO)
In the nightcap, the Blazers used a complete game, three-hit shutout from senior
Zach Henderson for the victory as he fanned four and walked none to earn Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Week honors. Henderson improved to 2-0 on the year, while Gates was 2 for 4 with a run scored and a double. Canegitta was 1 for 2 with two runs scored. Junior
Bryson Gandy went 1 for 3 with a run scored and three RBI on a three-run blast.
Gandy's second blast of the season came in the second inning, plating both Harper and Canegitta for the 3-0 lead. Harper reached on a throwing error in the third inning, plating both Sessa and Gates for a 5-0 lead and then Harper singled to right in the fifth, plating Canegitta for a 6-0 lead.
Henderson worked out of a two on jam in the third and the sixth innings to preserve the shutout. The Blazers continue on the road on Tuesday at Georgia Southwestern at 6 p.m., and then will return to conference play at Shorter for a three-game set next weekend, before hosting Georgia College at Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park on Mar. 7 at 5 p.m.
