Adam MacDonald
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
VALDOSTA — Valdosta State’s baseball team had a chance to sweep Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday at Billy Grant Field, but the Chargers’ Ryan McCrory had other ideas.
The Blazers pounded out 17 hits and beat the Chargers (16-7, 3-2 in the GSC) 17-5 in seven innings in game 1, but McCrory hit two home runs in game 2, including a monster shot in extra innings to help the Chargers salvage a split, 10-8.
VSU (21-10, 1-1 in the GSC) trailed UAH 8-3 in game 2, but Austin Smith hit a rocket three-run homer over the center field wall to make it 8-6, and Clayton Cain hit an RBI single up the middle to tie the game 8-8 in the sixth.
However, McCrory hit a two-out, two-run homer halfway up a tree in right field for the game-winning runs off of VSU reliever Jordan Yost in the eighth inning.
“We met with all our pitchers, and I made a point that the one thing we’re going to do is not let McCrory beat us,” Blazers head coach Greg Guilliams said. “If we walk him, we walk him. But guys aren’t perfect. Pitchers make mistakes. He’s a good hitter, and boy, when we made mistakes, he sure made us pay.”
The Blazers put runners on first and second with no outs in the bottom of the eighth, but Brandon Decker lined out and Clayton Cain struck out, then Conrad Boron struck out to end the game.
“That’s the situation you want to put yourself in,” Guilliams said. “If you’re going to lose, you’re going to lose with your two best guys. I was just disappointed. We got our two best guys up, and they weren’t able to hit the ball out of the infield. But the next time we’re in that situation, those guys (Decker and Cain) are the two guys I want up.”
It was a tough loss for Yost, who pitched 5 2-3 innings and gave up just two runs. It was his longest outing of the season, and he retired nine in a row at one point.
“Jordan pitched outstanding,” Guilliams said. “I couldn’t really ask much more out of him. The longest outing I think he had coming into today was two innings. He talked to me before the game, and said, ‘If you need me, I can go five.’ He was throwing well, so we pitched him through six, and obviously, maybe it was one too many.”
McCrory came into the doubleheader with three home runs this season. He left with six. He also hit one in game 1.
Smith hit two home runs in the doubleheader for the Blazers. Cain went 5 for 7 with four RBIs in the doubleheader. Jordan Hollis went 5 for 6 with five runs in the doubleheader.
In game 1, the Blazers’ offense exploded for 12 runs in the first three innings, and cruised to a 17-5 victory. The game was called after the seventh inning, due to the run rule, because the Blazers were up by at least 10 runs.
The big damage came in the bottom of the third, when the Blazers scored eight runs on six hits and two errors. Valdosta State sent 11 batters to the plate, and everyone in the lineup scored, except for Chris Jones, who laid down a sacrifice bunt.
Yost, Hollis and Ryan Danbury all singled, then Decker hit his GSC-leading 11th homer, a three-run shot. Smith followed two batters later with his second homer of the year, a two-run shot.
Jon Koenigsfeld was 3 for 4 with two doubles and four RBIs in game 1. Hollis was 3 for 4 with four runs. Danbury was a perfect 3 for 3 with three runs and two RBIs. Decker and Smith had three RBIs apiece. The Blazers pounded out 17 hits.
Ross Gusky pitched through control issues, and picked up his fifth win of the season. Gusky hit four batters, walked three and gave up two home runs in 6 2-3 innings. He faced the minimum nine batters through three innings, but gave up a double, hit a batter and served up a three-run homer to start the fourth. He settled down and retired three of the next four batters.
The Chargers made four errors in the game. Ryan Frevert took the loss after giving up 12 runs, five earned, in three innings.
The Blazers and Chargers play the rubber game of their three-game series today at 1 p.m. at Billy Grant Field.
