VALDOSTA, Ga. — The Valdosta State baseball team (3-8) fell 14-3 to Georgia Southwestern (8-4) Tuesday night at Billy Grant Field.

The Hurricanes plated eight runs in the first two innings to take control of the contest. Georgia Southwestern added to its lead in the middle frames and finished with 14 runs on the night.

Valdosta State connected on five hits in the loss. Sophomore Parker Ladd entered the game as a defensive substitution before connecting on a home run and a base hit. Junior Matt Keller, junior Jason Mack and senior Jackson Webster each recorded a hit. Seniors Easton Hood and Luca Maberry each added a walk for the Blazers. 

Junior Ryan Strachan drew the start on the mound, also hitting as the designated hitter. Senior Keaton Fuller provided a scoreless inning of relief work.

Devon Murphy and Drew Reaves led GSW with a pair of home runs. The Hurricanes notched 14 hits and 14 runs in eight innings. Georgia Southwestern received a strong outing from its starting pitcher, Wade Johnson, who limited the Blazers to two runs on three hits in six innings of work. 

The Blazers will be back in action this weekend for their second series of GSC play when they travel to Nashville to take on Trevecca Nazarene (7-3). Game one is set for Friday 4 p.m. ET with Saturday's doubleheader set to begin at 1 p.m. ET.

Find live stats, written coverage, streaming links, and more on vstateblazers.com and follow @VState_Blazers as well as @VState_Baseball to stay up to date with the team as they begin GSC play.