OXFORD, Ala. – Trailing 6-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the No. 4-seeded Valdosta State baseball team brought 12 batters to the plate in the frame and scored eight runs to upset top-seeded West Florida 9-6 Saturday evening in a winner's bracket game in the Gulf South Conference Baseball Championship.
 
The Blazers (32-16) now will battle No. 7-seed Lee (28-23) who also is 2-0 in the tournament Sunday afternoon at approximately 5 p.m. ET.  The game will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM in Valdosta with Kit Strief having the call.   Click here for the GSC Championship Central webpage.
 
Just like last night when the Blazers scored the game-tying run in the eighth inning on a sacrifice fly as VSU won 6-5 in 11-innings over No. 5-seed West Georgia, VSU scored eight runs Saturday evening in the frame on five hits, highlighted by a sophomore pinch-hitter Hunter Stowe two RBI single to center field with two out on a 3-2 pitch for a 7-6 lead.  Junior David Crawford followed with a two-run home run from for a 9-6 advantage culminating the scoring in the inning and the thrilling comeback.  In the two games so far in the tournament, VSU has scored nine of its 15 runs in the eighth inning.
 
The eighth began with Crawford hitting a single to right field and advanced to second on a wild pitch as UWF brought in Dilan Lawson for the eighth, relieving starter Major Posey, who went seven strong innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, walked three and fanned six basically keeping the Blazers in check offensively.  Lawson, however, would last just 0.1 innings, allowing two hits, four earned runs and walked one.  Following the first out, graduate student JP Gates singled to center, plating Crawford for a 6-2 score and Gates' second RBI single of the game.  Senior Orlando Adams was hit by a pitch and a walk to sophomore Jovanni Canegitta loaded the bases, chasing Lawson from the game in favor of Jacob Estes.  Blazer junior Jacob Harper belted a bases-clearing double to right field for a 6-5 deficit bringing the Blazer faithful in the stands to their feet.  An intentional walk to senior Bryson Gandy followed and a flyout to center for the second out as Harper moved to third.  UWF went to the bullpen, once again, for Tyler Dowdy replacing Estes.  Gandy stole second and then Stowe belted the biggest hit of his career and then Crawford's fourth round-tripper of the season.
 
In the ninth, the Blazers brought in junior Zane Stephens who earned his first save of the season, allowing one hit in the frame.  The loss handed UWF (33-15) its first setback since a 4-3 loss to Montevallo on Mar. 31, and snapped a 17-game winning streak, which was the longest current streak in NCAA Division II.
 
Blazer graduate student Jeremy Adams, who has had some tough luck this season, got his first win of the year in relief, as he went four masterful innings, walking one and fanning two.  He stymied the UWF attack not allowing a hit.  Senior starter, Zach Henderson went four innings, allowing six hits, six earned runs, walked five and fanned four. 
 
VSU had nine runs on eight hits with one error, while UWF had six runs on seven hits and one error.  VSU was led by Gates, who finished 3 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI, while Stowe was 1 for 2 with a run scored and two RBI earning Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Game honors.  Crawford finished 2 for 4 with three runs scored, the insurance home run and two RBI.  Harper was 1 for 3 with a run scored and three big RBI. 
 
The Argos, ranked No. 8 nationally, scored two runs in the second inning as Jaden Fryman singled to right with the bases loaded for a 1-0 lead and an RBI from Josh Prizina on a double play plated the second run of the frame.  UWF extended the lead to 5-0 with three runs in the fourth with a two RBI double from True Fontenot and an RBI single from Trent Jeffcoat.  The Argos tacked on one in the top of the fifth for a 6-0 lead courtesy of a miscue by the Blazers. 
 
VSU used a one out walk to Crawford in the sixth and Gates doubled him home for a 6-1 deficit getting the Blazers on the board before the eighth-inning heroics.
 
The Blazers now are 40-39 all-time in the GSC Championship and have won two games in the tournament for the first time since going 3-2 in 2019.  VSU has won four conference tournament championship titles in program history (1995, 2002, 2010, 2013), while it has 13 appearances in the semifinals and eight in the finals, going 4-4.  The 40 victories are the second-most all-time in GSC history.