MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Valdosta State baseball team ran its winning streak to five games with a doubleheader sweep and series sweep at Auburn Montgomery on Saturday afternoon. VSU won the opener 12-7 and then won the nightcap 10-4, outscoring AUM 29-14 including Friday's 7-3 victory.
VALDOSTA STATE 12, AUBURN MONTGOMERY 7 (GAME ONE)
In the opener, the Blazers scored 12 runs on 14 hits and two errors, while AUM had seven runs on 12 hits and one error. VSU was led by junior Jacob Harper who went 3 for 5 with two runs scored, two doubles and four RBI as he earned Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Game honors. Junior David Crawford was 3 for 6 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored.
Graduate student JP Gates scored the first run of the game on a home run to right center in the top of the first with two out, while Harper doubled down the right field line, plating two for a 3-0 lead. It was Gates' sixth home run of the season and home runs in back-to-back games.
AUM scored two runs in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly and a single through the right side for a 3-2 deficit, but the Blazers kept the offense going in the second as Crawford blasted his third home run of the season for a 4-2 lead. The Warhawks pulled within 4-3 in the bottom of the second with an RBI single, but VSU plated three runs in the top of the third one coming on an error by the Warhawks and then senior Bryson Gandy singled home two runs for a 7-3 lead. A sacrifice fly from sophomore Connor Morgan made the score 8-3 in the fourth.
The Warhawks posted two runs in the fifth, one on a home run and one following an error on an RBI double for an 8-5 score. Once again, the Blazers responded, with an RBI single from sophomore Jovanni Canegitta and then a two RBI double from Harper for an 11-5 lead in the top of the sixth. A wild pitch plated Harper for a 12-5 score in the ninth and then AUM hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom for the final margin of 12-7.
Blazer senior starter Zach Henderson earned the win, going seven innings, allowing eight hits, five runs – four earned, walked two and fanned two.
VALDOSTA STATE 10, AUBURN MONTGOMERY 4 (GAME TWO)
AUM took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single, but the lead was short lived, however, as Gandy belted a three-run home run in the top of the second for a 3-1 lead. Later in the frame, Gonzalez belted a three-run shot for a 6-1 lead. Two of four errors by the Warhawks plated two runs for the Blazers in the top of the third for an 8-1 lead.
The Warhawks (18-28, 10-17 GSC) added one run in the bottom of the third, but the Blazers (29-12, 18-9 GSC) played two more runs in the fifth for a 10-2 score. AUM cut the deficit to 10-4 in the bottom of the fifth for the final scoring of the game.
For the game, VSU had ten runs on 16 hits with one error, while AUM had four runs on eight hits with four errors. Gonzalez was 4 of 5 for the game with one run scored and five RBI earning Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Game honors, while Gandy finished 2 for 4 with one run scored and three RBI. Both hit home runs in the game. Senior Kevin Tomas went five innings to improve to 5-3 on the year, allowing six hits, four earned runs, walked one and fanned five. Senior Brandon Raiden pitched the final two innings, allowing one hit and he fanned one.
The Blazers play at Eckerd on Tuesday at 5 p.m., and then return home for Senior Weekend versus West Florida, beginning Friday at 5 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.
