Written by Aldean Starr, Staff Writer

The Valdosta State baseball team has started the season winning two of three heading into this Saturday’s match-up with Wingate.

The Blazers started the season on the road last Saturday afternoon against the #15 North Georgia Nighthawks at Bob Stein Stadium in Dahlonega, Georgia. The two teams played a double-header and split the match-ups.

In the first game, the Blazers suffered a close loss in a 4-3 game. The contest went back-and-forth with the Blazers taking a lead in the top of the sixth inning but that advantage was soon lost in the next inning. The Nighthawks put a stamp on the game with their final run in the bottom of the eighth via a wild pitch by the Blazers’ Roman Donofro.

The Blazers were able to pull off a win in the second game. There was a total of four home runs hit in the second game and the final score was tallied at 10-5. The Blazers were in control for most of the contest, but the Nighthawks went on a small run in the bottom of the fifth when they scored four runs that cut the Blazers lead to 6-5. But the blazers were able to pull away by scoring at least a run in each of the last three innings and were able to hold the Nighthawks scoreless after the fifth.

VSU kept the momentum going when it came home to Billy Grant Field to play against the Albany State Golden Rams on Tuesday. The battle was pretty close and the Blazers survived a run from the Rams in which Albany State took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth. VSU took the lead back in the bottom of the sixth and pulled away in the eighth with a home run by outfielder Dalton Duty which capped the Blazers’ 4-2 win.

Catcher Tyler York and pitcher/designated hitter Jaykob Graham have each been incredible in the first few games. York is batting .556, has one home run and three runs batted in. Graham is batting .385 with three runs batted in and also has a win in the pitchers’ column.

The Blazers return to the diamond this weekend at Billy Grant Field. After hosting Wingate on Saturday, VSU challenges Wingate and Florida Tech in a Sunday double-header.