Carrollton, GA - Studies have shown that technically there is no such thing as a clutch player. Well no one told UWG junior Garrett Hayes, who delivered another game-winning single for the Wolves in Gulf South Conference play, as West Georgia took down Valdosta State 8-7 in the second game of a Friday doubleheader at Billy Grant Field. The win tied the series, as VSU won the first game 7-2.

Hayes had an atypical day at the plate, as he came into the series with a batting average of nearly .400, yet went 1-for-8 with his only hit of the day coming on the game-winner in the top of the final inning of the second game of the day. On the mound, Chris Burdette worked 1.1 innings to pick up his third victory and Tyler Gunnin came on to close out the seventh for his league-leading ninth save of the year.

But the day didn't start out so dandy for the boys in Blue and Red, as Jamie Sexton and Mitchell Cody went toe-to-toe for four scoreless innings in the opener before the VSU bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth. The Blazers touched up Sexton for six runs in that inning and all seven runs in the first game were credited to the senior hurler as well as 11 of the 13 hits for VSU.

West Georgia's bats were largely silent in the first game, as the Wolves plated a run in the sixth and the ninth, but managed just five hits in the game. No player had more than one hit in the contest, with Tyler Hutch and Artemis Kadkhodaian scoring the only runs of the game for UWG.

The doldrums continued for the Wolves into the first two innings of the second game, as starter Matthew Norton, who has been stellar for much of the year, was touched up for six runs on eight hits. Only four of the runs were earned, but VSU's continued hitting of the Wolves' pitching became a concern. But then head coach Skip Fite made the call to the bullpen that likely saved the game for his squad, bringing in senior A.J. Sunstrom.

Sunstrom settled in quickly and worked three scoreless innings for West Georgia, allowing just two hits and striking out three to give the Wolves a spark from the mound. Drew Eady scored the first run of the game for the Wolves after leading off the third with an infield single. He moved to second on a wild pitch, then to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout to second by Sumner McWhorter.

While not flashy, that set up the big inning in the fourth, as the Wolves sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning, scoring six runs and taking advantage of three Valdosta State errors in the process. Troy Brown had an RBI in the inning, followed by Keith Buckhault, then Hutch drove in two with a single and the Wolves were rolling. McWhorter picked up another RBI with a sacrifice fly and Hutch then gave the Wolves the lead by scoring on a wild pitch. As the teams headed to the bottom of the fourth, West Georgia had new life with a 7-6 lead and the seventh looming with with top closer in the league warming up.

The fifth was scoreless for both teams, but with two runners on in the bottom of the frame, Fite gave the ball to Burdette after Sunstrom's solid peformance. Burdette shut down the threat by getting the VSU batter to go down swinging, but after UWG didn't score in the top of the sixth, VSU tied the game on the first pitch of the bottom of the inning. Michael Gouge was the culprit, hitting the game-tying home run to send the game to the 7th with a 7-7 tie.

Dalton Rogers, who had also been largely silent on the day, doubled to lead off the inning, followed by Hayes' single to give the Wolves the lead. Gunnin came on in the bottom of the 7th, allowed one baserunner on an infield hit with one out, then close the book with two straight outs to pick up the save.

All nine Wolves' starters contributed at the plate, as eight of the nine had a hit in the game and the ninth, McWhorter, had no hits but two RBI. Eady was the only player to score two runs in the contest, as the Wolves moved to 25-12 on the year and 17-9 in Gulf South Conference play.

The two teams will play the rubber game of the series on Saturday, with a new start time of noon, as the two teams look to get ahead of the rain that is projected to hit Valdosta tomorrow afternoon.