Carrollton, GA - A bid for the first Gulf South Conference baseball championship since 1998 for UWG ended Monday evening at Tartt Field in Livingston, Ala., as the 26th-ranked West Georgia Wolves lost 9-2 to the Delta State Statesmen in the final elimination game before championship Tuesday at the 2015 Gulf South Conference tournament.

The loss drops West Georgia to 33-15 on the year, and the game marked the second time in the past three years that the Wolves were the last team out before the championship games. West Georgia made it to championship day two years ago in Carrollton, also falling to the Statesmen in that season. Head coach Skip Fite and his Wolves will now wait for the decision of the NCAA Regional committee to determine if more postseason play is ahead for UWG.

West Georgia was ranked 7th by the committee earlier this week, as the Wolves have been in that spot in every NCAA regional ranking this season. UWG also jumped back into the national rankings on Monday, as the Wolves were ranked 26th in the Collegiate Baseball News rankings, released Monday afternoon.

The Statesmen jumped on UWG early in the game Monday evening, scoring two runs off of UWG starter Josh Morgan in the bottom of the first. The score remained 2-0 until the sixth, when Delta State touched up Morgan and reliever Colton Duttweiler for seven runs, opening up a 9-0 lead.

The Wolves scored their first runs of the game in the top of the seventh, when Tyler Hutch delivered a two-run single to make the score 9-2. Ethan Hunter came on in relief late in the game, keeping DSU off the scoreboard by allowing no runs on two hits in 2.1 innings of work while striking out five. West Georgia made it a little more interesting with three runs in the top of the 9th, powered in the frame by back-to-back RBI doubles from Sumner McWhorter and Dalton Rogers.

McWhorter, Artemis Kadkhodaian and Troy Brown each had multiple hits in the game, led by Kadkhodaian, who was 3-for-4 with a run scored. Morgan took the loss in the game, just his second this season.

Inning-By-Inning Breakdown

1st Inning - DSU 2, Wolves 0
Roller coaster could be the best way to describe the first inning of Monday's contest, as the West Georgia Wolves loaded the bases with singles from Artemis Kadkhodaian and Sumner McWhorter leading the way. But the Wolves couldn't push a run across and the Statesmen made UWG pay early in the bottom of the first, plating a pair of runs without an out, but then UWG starter Josh Morgan settled down, holding DSU to no runs after the first two.

2nd Inning - DSU 2, Wolves 0
The second inning had very little drama, as both Morgan and DSU starter Jake Brumfield sat their respective opponents down in order to move the inning quickly along.

3rd Inning - DSU 2, Wolves 0
Tyler Hutch led off the inning by reaching on an error by the Delta State shortstop, then was thrown out trying to steal second, his first time on that end of a stolen base this season. Kadkhodaian then walked, but McWhorter grounded into a double play to end the inning for the Wolves. In the bottom half of the inning, the Statesmen picked up a runner, but Kadkhodaian returned the favor by turning a double play for the first two outs of the frame.

4th Inning - DSU 2, Wolves 0
The Wolves had very little going in the top of the fourth, with senior shortstop Troy Brown delivering a two-out double as the third hit of the game for West Georgia. Garrett Hayes flew out to left to end the inning. In the Statesmen half of the inning, Josh Morgan both walked and struck out his fourth batters of the game to end the inning and send the contest to the 5th.

5th Inning - DSU 2, Wolves 0
Drew Eady was the only UWG hitter to reach base in the top of the 5th, as he was hit by a Brumfield pitch. Kadkhodaian ended the inning with a fly out to shortstop. Morgan walked the first batter, then with one, gave the Statesmen runners and first and second by hitting a DSU batter. That prompted Skip Fite to go to the bullpen and bring on Colton Duttweiler, who retired the final batters of the inning to hold Delta State scoreless in the inning.

6th Inning - DSU 9, Wolves 0
West Georgia gets a single baserunner in the inning, as Dalton Rogers drew a one-out walk. That would be as far as he would get, as the top of the 6th ended with a pop out. The bottom half of the inning started with an error on McWhorter, giving DSU a runner. That runner, Landon Thibodeaux, came around to score on a groundout to Kadkhodaian, giving the Statesmen a 3-0 lead. In the next at-bat, Duttweiler struck out the DSU batter, but the ball got away from catcher Matthew Pope, allowing another run to score, making the score 4-0. That followed with an infield single and another run scored, giving the Statesmen a 5-0 lead. Later in the inning, a double from Colton Welch scored two more, giving DSU a 7-0 lead.

7th Inning - DSU 9, Wolves 2
Garrett Hayes opened the inning with a walk, then Taylor Bentley made it two free passes, as he was hit by a pitch. Drew Eady hit behind the runners to move both up a base into scoring position with a groundout to second. One batter later, Tyler Hutch drove in the first runs of the game with a two-run single, then Kadkhodaian made it back-to-back singles, giving the Wolves runners at first and second with one out. That was as far as the Wolves would get, as the top half of the inning ended with DSU leading 9-2. In the bottom half of the frame, Delta State picks up a runner on one hit, but Ethan Hunter struck out two in the inning.

8th Inning - DSU 9, Wolves 2
In the top of the inning, Troy Brown had a one-out single to give the Wolves a baserunner. Taylor Bentley looked to have another base hit with two outs, but Thibadeaux stole the hit away with a diving catch to end the half-inning. Hunter cruised through the Statesmen trio in the bottom half of the inning to send the game to the 9th inning.

9th Inning - DSU 9, Wolves 5
Eady grounded out to lead off the inning, then Hutch was hit by a pitch, the 15th time that has happened this season. He moved into scoring position on Kadkhodaian's single, then scored on a double from McWhorter to make it 9-3. Dalton Rogers made it back-to-back doubles, scoring Kadkhodaian to make it 9-4, then McWhorter scored on a bang-bang play at the plate on a sacrifice fly from Matthew Pope for the final run.