All season long, opposing pitchers have had the obvious trouble of recording outs against Valdosta State when Brandon Decker and Clayton Cain step the plate.
The pair of sluggers poses numerous problems for opposing pitchers.
Decker leads the Conference in the top three statistical categories (batting average, homeruns and RBI’s) while Clayton Cain is in the top 10 in the same categories.
In nearly every game, Decker, whose 17 homeruns is tied for sixth best in Division II, sits third in the Blazers lineup as Cain, whose 13 homeruns is tied for seventieth best in Division II, sits fourth.
Even though the pair has combined for 30 homeruns on the season, opposing pitchers are being forced to pitch to the two Valdosta State sluggers, usually because the top two batters in the lineup have recorded hits.
For the latter part of the season, Valdosta native Ryan Danbury, who opted to come back to VSU after being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2009 summer draft, is hitting in the lead-off spot for Valdosta State. This season Danbury has posted the fourth best average on the team, .375, and is tied with the most triples on the team with three.
Even when Decker recorded a double, triple and a homerun against West Georgia, the Wolves were forced to pitch to Decker because Cain, who was just as hot, was sitting behind Decker.
Together the two sluggers have combined for a .439 average and 120 RBIs and a total of 247 bases on the season, the highest for any two teammates in the conference. Currently, Decker sits with a .463 average, which is a single point ahead of the current single season school record. Decker is also on track to abolish the current school record for slugging percentage in a single season, as he is 94 points ahead of the mark set by Cecil Whitehead in 1978.
Although Decker was named a Division II All-American last season along with Matt Costello and Brandon Graves, both of whom were drafted in 2009, Decker is on the fast track to being named to that prestigious list one more time. However this season, Decker will most likely be joined by Cain on that list.
The Blazers return to action this weekend when they host Lambuth at Billy Grant Field. The three-game series kicks off on Saturday with a doubleheader and concludes on Sunday. Read about the weekend series online at VSUspectator.com.