CARROLLTON, Ga. - The West Georgia baseball team went toe-to-toe on the road Saturday evening with the top team in NCAA Division II baseball, coming up on the short end of a 6-2 score against Delta State at Boo Ferris Field in Cleveland, Miss. 

The game was postponed due to rain throughout the day, with the Statesmen finally able to remove the tarp from the field in time for a 7:30 p.m. first pitch, ending a more than five-hour rain delay. The two teams were originally scheduled for a doubleheader Saturday but will play two on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. 

West Georgia came out firing in the top of the first, with senior second baseman Brian Dansereau starting an early rally with a one-out walk. Cade Marlowe singled, followed by an RBI double from Logan Taylor to score Dansereau and give the Wolves a 1-0 lead. Freshman Brody Wortham, in his first Gulf South Conference start, grounded out to first, scoring Marlowe for a 2-0 lead. for the Wolves. 

Ryan Parker got the start on the mound for the Wolves in Game 1 of the series, sitting the Statesmen down in order in the bottom of the first for a solid start. The Wolves picked up a single from freshman Daniel Langston in his first Gulf South Conference start in the inning, but nothing further. Delta State put up four runs on four hits in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead in the game. 

Delta State added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth when Jake Barlow led off the inning with a solo home run, then Josh Russell had an RBI single to give the Statesmen a 6-2 advantage over the Wolves. At that point, Fite brought in junior Cory Bartholomew, who worked 3.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts to keep the Statesmen at six runs for the remainder of the game. 

West Georgia falls to 6-13 on the year with a 3-6 record against GSC opponents while Delta State moves to 16-2 overall with an 8-1 record in conference play.