LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Blazer sophomore Dennis Pierce had himself a day as he drove in nine runs on four hits, with two of them being home runs in doubleheader split between Valdosta State and West Alabama on Saturday evening.
 
Valdosta State enters game three with a 10-9 (5-6 GSC) record while West Alabama is 10-11 (4-7 GSC). Game three is slated for tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
 
GAME ONE: Valdosta State: 8 West Alabama: 4
Two straight singles by the first two Blazer hitters had Valdosta State on the prowl to score some early runs. A double steal had junior Pedro Moreno and senior Ryan Romano in scoring position with one out. The junior Hunter Stowe did what he was supposed to do, as the designated hitter shot a ball into left field for a single to drive in his 18^th and 19^th RBIs of the season as VSU led UWA 2-0 early.  
 
The second inning was no different, as the first two Blazers recorded hits as sophomore DJ Banks tripled to right center to bring home senior Jacob Harper as they grew their lead to three. A groundout drove in Banks, and it was 4-0 VSU heading into the bottom of the second. West Alabama stole a run back on an error in the bottom of the third as Valdosta State led 4-1 through two.
 
Redshirt junior Zac Dodson had his best start of the year, as the Boca Raton, Fla. native threw 87 pitches in 6.2 innings and allowed zero earned runs while fanning seven Tigers for his first win of the season.
 
Pedro Moreno scored his second run of the game after a leadoff single and stolen base resulted in him being driven in by sophomore Dennis Pierce to make it 5-1. VSU tacked on another run as junior Jovanni Canegitta singled through the left side to bring home Pierce to make it 6-1 through five.
 
Dennis Pierce drove in two more in the top of the sixth as that was all the Blazers needed to take down the Tigers in game one, as Valdosta State pulled away and won game one 8-4.
 
GAME TWO: Valdosta State: 12 West Alabama: 14
The hot start rolled over into game two, as a single up the middle from sophomore Ray Ortiz brought home Pedro Moreno as Valdosta State was up 1-0 early. The Blazers weren't done there, as Hunter Stowe drove in Dennis Pierce on a sacrifice fly to head into the bottom of first up 2-0. The pitching ran into trouble, as West Alabama jumped all over sophomore Anthony Martens to start the bottom of the first, as three straight hits had West Alabama on the board early. A walk had the bases loaded with no one out, as back-to-back hits cleared the bases to make it 4-2 with no one out still. VSU went to the bullpen, where three more runners would come around to score as UWA led 7-2 through one.
 
Dennis Pierce continued his strong day, as the Philly native smoked a grand slam for his fourth homerun of the year as Valdosta State was trailing 6-7 heading into the bottom of the second. Junior Jude Ard continued to pitch in relief in the bottom of the second, as West Alabama plated two in the bottom of the second, as they led 9-6 through two innings of play.
 
Valdosta State had another chance to get back into the game in the top of the fifth. Trailing 11-6, senior David Crawford drew a one out walk as VSU was in desperate need of a rally. Freshman Daniel Kerrigan singled down the right field line to place runners at the corners with one out. An error by the Tiger shortstop brought in a run to make it 7-11. A walk drawn by Jacob Harper had the bases loaded yet again for Dennis Pierce. Before he had the chance to do damage, a failed pickoff attempt brought home two and gave Pierce a chance to tie it up. Pierce then proceeded to mash a two-run home run for his second of the evening to tie it up at 11 heading into the bottom of the fifth. West Alabama was able to tack on three runs to retake the lead heading into the top of the sixth.
 
In the top of the sixth, the Blazers were walked or hit by the pitch four times to steal back a run as they still trailed 14-12 heading into the bottom of the sixth. The Blazer pitching held steady in the bottom of the sixth to give VSU a chance to steal game two in the top of the seventh.
 
Hunter Stowe started off the top half with a single up the middle to put the tying run at the plate. A double play neutralized the run which left the game up to junior Cole Steinmetz, who proceeded to get plunked to bring the tying run to the plate yet again.  A groundout sealed the fate for game two, as West Alabama came out on top, 14-12.