VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State baseball team was able to get one of the weekend's three scheduled games in against Lee, and the Blazers made it count with a thrilling 7-6 Gulf South Conference victory over the Flames on Saturday afternoon in Titletown, USA.
The Flames cancelled out a 3-0 Blazer lead in the top of the fifth inning with a four-run surge that chased VSU starter Mitchell Cody midway through the frame. Cody walked Nathan Wierzgac to start off the inning before striking out Brayden Ware for his seventh strikeout of the game. Leadoff hitter Kyle Briner followed with a double to right field, and Wierzgac scored during the next at bat on a wild pitch. With Lee trailing 3-1 and Briner at third, Ben Holland followed with an RBI single to cut VSU's lead to 3-2.
Kellan Bailey came on in relief for Cody and promptly struck out Trenton Hill, but Luke Toms drew a walk in the ensuing at bat, and a wild pitch allowed both runners to advance into scoring position at second and third. Chris Adams capitalized on the opportunity and put Lee in front 4-3 with a two-run single to left, before Bailey induced a fly ball to center to end the inning.
The Flames extended their lead to 6-3 just one inning later with a pair of unearned runs, but a resilient Blazer squad fired back in the bottom of the sixth with a four-run frame of their own. The half inning was highlighted by three-run bomb for Dalton Duty, which gave the Blazers the runs they needed to reclaim a 7-6 advantage.
Chipper Andzel continued to produce in the leadoff spot for VSU with a team-high three hit effort on the day. Andzel also scored two of the Blazers' seven runs and served as one of the three runners to score on Duty's decisive sixth inning blast. Duty improved his home run total to six with the home run, and the junior currently stands 18th among all Division II hitters with a .471 batting average.
Bailey served as the pitcher of record for the Blazers and improved his record to 5-3 on the year, while LU's Briner suffered his first loss of the season to drop to 3-1. The Blazers improved their record to 18-11 with the victory and 10-6 in conference play, while the Flames fell to 16-13 on the year and 7-9 against GSC opponents. The win placed the Blazers in fourth place behind Delta State (20-9, 13-5 GSC) and West Florida (19-11, 13-5 GSC) in the league standings.
VSU and Lee began game two of a scheduled doubleheader late Saturday afternoon, but the game was cancelled in the first inning after a downpour rendered the field unplayable.
***Courtesy VSU Athletics
