LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The University of West Alabama baseball team earned a 14-12 victory in the second game on Saturday's doubleheader from Tartt Field after Valdosta State University fell in the first game, 8-4.
After the action on the diamond, West Alabama improves to 11-11 overall and 4-7 in the Gulf South Conference. Valdosta State enters Sunday's series finale at 10-9 and 5-6.
GAME 1: Valdosta State 8, West Alabama 4
VSU stormed out to a 4-0 lead after scoring twice in the first two innings. However, in the bottom of the second, a
Ryan Fletcher base hit, and a little help by the Blazers defense on a throwing error, saw
Cade Horton cross the plate for UWA's first run.
In the fifth, Valdosta State added two more runs on two RBI singles to swell the lead to 6-1.
The Tigers had no answer for starter Zac Dodson, who retired 10 straight batters at one point, but in the seventh, the bats went to work. Following two straight outs,
Ryan Fletcher started the rally on a throwing error, and
Bryce Newman followed with a two-out double.
Following a VSU pitching change,
Kyle Vogler made it an 8-4 affair with a two-run single. Unfortunately, that would be as close as UWA would get as they were set down in order in the eighth and left a runner stranded in the ninth.
Bryce Newman went 2-for-5 in the opener with a double and an RBI and a run scored, while
Jack Beck also added two hits.
Zac Dodson (1-2) tossed 6.2 innings, allowing four unearned runs and striking out seven against the UWA offense.
Dennis Pierce led the Blazers' offense with a 2-for-4 day at the plate with three RBIs, while Hunter Stowe added two RBIs.
GAME 2: West Alabama 14, Valdosta State 12
The offense on both sides were going at it in the second game. After the Blazers started the inning with two in the first, the Tigers answered in a loud way with seven runs. The first six batters reached for UWA, which sent starter Anthony Martens to the showers without recording an out.
Houston Kitterman got the Tigers on the board with an RBI single, and two batters later,
Cade Horton made it a 2-2 game with his knock to left field.
Blake Vineyard followed Horton with a two-run double to give the Tigers the 4-2 lead.
After Horton scampered to the plate on a wild pitch,
Jack Beck, the ninth batter in the inning, made it a 6-2 lead with a base hit up the middle.
Newman's second plate appearance of the inning see him send a fly ball to center field for the sac fly, scoring Bryaden Pelkey for the seventh run of the inning.
VSU responded with four runs in the second, capped by a grand slam by Dennis Pierce to cut the UWA lead to 7-6.
UWA's bats came back to life in the bottom half of the frame, thanks in part to the team's patience. After two walks and a single to load the bases, Vineyard made it an 8-6 game with a sac fly, and
Chase Dejean followed with an RBI double to the left center field gap.
After the UWA pitching staff put back-to-back zeros on the scoreboard, the offense added some add-on runs in the bottom of the fourth. West Alabama hit double digits first thanks to a single up the middle by Dejean, and
Kyle Vogler followed with a RBI knock up the middle to make it 11-6.
VSU responded in the fifth with a five-run frame to even the game at 11 runs apiece. Trailing 11-7, the Blazers scored two runs off a failed pickoff attempt while Dennis Pierce was at the plate. After the botched play, Pierce added insult to injury with a two-run shot to tie the game.
However, the Tigers would not go away, as they responded with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Following a Blazers pitching change, Vineyard brought pinch runner
Sam Smith home with a base hit to give the Tigers the 12-11 lead. Dejean followed with an RBI off an error.
After Beck loaded the bases on a four-pitch walk, Newman stayed patient and watched four more pitches outside the zone for the RBI free pass and increase the lead to 14-11.
VSU made it a 14-12 game with a hit by pitch RBI by Raynel Ortiz in the sixth.
In the seventh, after
Payton Graben came in to close the door with a runner on first base, he induced a 6-4-3 double play to help the Tigers secure the split and forcing a rubber match on Sunday.
Blake Vineyard led the Tigers with four RBIs on two hits and added two runs scored.
Chase Dejean added three RBIs and a double, while
Bryce Newman drove in two on the afternoon.
Dennis Pierce totaled nine RBIs on the day, adding six in the night cap with two home runs.
UWA will wrap up the series with VSU on Sunday for a 1 p.m. first pitch. Along with live video on the UWA Athletics YouTube Channel, the game will also be simulcast live on 104.9 FM in Livingston and on the SLYROCK app.
