Carrollton, GA - The University of West Georgia offense picked a great time to wake up from what has seemed to be a season-long slumber Saturday afternoon, as the Wolves pounded out 14 runs on 21 hits in Saturday's home doubleheader against Valdosta State, taking down the defending Gulf South Conference champions in a thrilling 6-5 walk-off victory in the opener. In the nightcap, West Georgia used a five-run sixth to pick up an 8-4 victory. 

The Wolves played like a team on a mission to protect its turf, as the last time the Blazers played at Cole Field, they were winning the 2013 Gulf South Conference Championship over Delta State. But that didn't faze the Wolves, as senior Cody Skinner got things going in the first game by keeping VSU at bay through six solid innings. 

Skinner allowed just three hits through those first six frames while his offense built a 5-0 lead. The scoring began in the third, as the Wolves put three runs on the board in the inning. 

Artemis Kadkhodaian opened the inning with a single, then moved to second on a balk. Cody Short moved the freshman second baseman to third with a groundout and Kadkhodaian came in to score the first run of the game on a double from Shaquille Jackson. After Jackson stole third, Jake Shirley made it back-to-back doubles, scoring the senior center fielder and giving the Wolves a 2-0 lead. After a Sumner McWhorter walk, JoJo Underwood singled, bringing home Shirley for the third run of the game. 

The duo of Kadkhodaian and Jackson struck again in the fourth, as Kadkhodaian doubled, followed by a single from Jackson that put UWG up by a 4-0 count. The Wolves continued the scoring in the bottom of the sixth, as Bryan Dunson doubled, followed by a Troy Brown single to give West Georgia a commanding lead. But in the top of the seventh, VSU bounced back for five runs, setting up a thrilling finish. 

The two teams were scoreless through the eighth and the top of the ninth, and Dunson started things off with a single. Neal Gandee came in to pinch run for Dunson, and he promptly moved to second on a groundout from Brown. With one out, Casey James pinch hit for Cody Short, and singled through the right side to bring home Gandee with the game-winning run. 

Dunson, Kadkhodaian and Jackson were each 2-for-4 on the afternoon to lead the UWG offensive contingent. Skinner worked seven innings, giving up five runs and striking out seven. Taylor Craft came on to work  the eighth and ninth, allowing just one hit in the two innings to get the victory and move to 2-1 on the year. 

West Georgia got on the board first in the second game, taking advantage of two VSU errors in the third inning, with Kadkhodaian at the center of the scoring again. The Fayetteville native reached on an error, then scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly from Sumner McWhorter. But the lead wouldn't last for long, as the Blazers scored four runs in the top of the fourth off of UWG starter A.J. Sunstrom, taking a 4-1 lead in the game. 

The Wolves fought back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, as Galen Smith got things going with an infield single. after he moved over to third Kadkhodaian came through again, this time with a sacrifice fly to cut the VSU lead to two. Dunson scored later in the inning on a fielder's choice to pull the Wolves to within a run at 4-3. 

But the big blow came in the sixth, when the Wolves broke through for five runs, with the rally starting again with Smith, who led off the frame with a double. Dunson followed with a single and James picked up his second game-winning hit with a two-RBI triple, putting West Georgia ahead for good. Kadkhodaian and Underwood each added RBI singles and McWhorter had sacrifice fly to close out the scoring on the day. 

Chris Burdette came on in relief in the fourth inning, working the final four innings to pick up the victory on the day. Burdette allowed just one hit and struck out two in his four innings of work. 

The Wolves and Blazers will close out the three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Cole Field, with the first pitch from Sunday starter Jamie Sexton set for 1 p.m.