Carrollton, GA - The West Georgia Wolves and Valdosta State Blazers engaged in an epic three-game series on Friday and Saturday, with the last two games decided by one run in the final inning. Unfortunately for the Wolves. the Blazers were on the winning end of two of the three games, including a 3-2 walk-off victory in the solo game on Saturday afternoon at Billy Grant Field in Valdosta.
The game started off strong for the Wolves, as
Sumner McWhorter homered in the second at-bat of the game, giving West Georgia a 1-0 lead early in the contest. UWG starter
Brandon Goldsmith cruised early with the help of his defense, as the Wolves' fielders kept the Blazers off of the scoreboard for the first three innings. That included a big play in the bottom of the first, when
Troy Brown fielded a ground ball with the bases loaded and one out, stepped on second and fired to first to end the frame with a double play.
The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth, when Bryant Hayman led off with a single followed by a Kevin Cruz home run to give Valdosta State a 2-1 advantage. UWG head coach
Skip Fite came out, calmed down his junior pitcher, and Goldsmith responded by sitting the next three batters down in order to stop the rally. The lead stayed for just a short time for VSU, as
Payton Mann pounded the second pitch of the top of the fifth over the fence in left-center to tie the contest at 2-2.
Just after that home run, the game was halted due to lightning in the Valdosta area, and the two teams went inside to get out of the weather for a 45-minute lighning delay.
After the game resumed, the two teams engaged in a pitcher's duel the rest of the way, as neither team could plate a run until the bottom of the ninth. With
Tyler Gunnin in to keep the Blazers at bay, Ryan Smith led off with a single off of Gunnin. Next Bobby Rice was hit by a pitch, giving VSU two runners on with no outs. B.J. Harmon bunted the runners to third and Gunnin intentionally walked Mike Reed. Gunnin couldn't find the strike zone in the next at-bat, as Michael Gouge walked to bring home Smith for the winning run.
The loss brings the West Georgia record to 25-13 on the year and 17-10 in Gulf South Conference play. The Wolves will have to wait to see how the rest of the conference finishes out the weekend on Sunday. UWG returns to the diamond on Tuesday, taking on the Miles Golden Bears in Birmingham at 3 p.m., before the final home series of the season next weekend against Christian Brothers.
