VALDOSTA — Six inches, and perhaps Valdosta State baseball’s season opener would have went a little different.

Six inches, and the talk of opening day would have been about a how-did-he-get-to-that catch.

Six inches, and VSU wouldn’t have had the scoreboard resemble a light bright in a five-run fourth inning by visiting Columbus State in Wednesday’s 5-1 loss.

If the baseball had landed just six inches to the right, it would have found itself in the glove of a diving Brian Hicks who had raced 20 yards in an instant, reaching for the Blazers’ final out of the inning.

However, the ball was placed too far for Hicks’ acrobatic effort in centerfield, allowing Columbus State’s Drew Candlin to reach second on a double.

“If you look at the scoreboard for eight of the nine innings, it had zeroes on it,” VSU coach Tommy Thomas said. “I can’t get too upset. Except for the one inning when they looked like gangbusters.”

The Blazers started the top of the fourth inning displaying sharp defense as shortstop Nick Phillips, second baseman Alberto Castellon and first baseman Jud Seymour got together on a 6-4-3 double play to put VSU one out from grabbing the bats.

After Hicks came close to turning VSU’s defense from sharp to dazzling, the Cougars showed some power and put the Blazers in a hole they wouldn’t dig out of.

With Candlin on second, Columbus State’s Billy Howard put a well-hit single in play bringing home Candlin for the Cougars’ first run of the game.

The Cougars’ next two runs would come in the split second it takes for a bat to leave the shoulder and smash into a baseball.

Columbus State’s Brad Linton drove pitcher Robert Petrucci’s pitch up and over left fielder Chris Harris’s head for a two-run homer.

On Petrucci’s next pitch, David Brown put the ball about 380 feet from home plate for back-to-back home runs by the Cougars.

“The two home runs were first pitch swings,” Thomas said. “They weren’t pitcher’s pitches, they were batter’s pitches.”

After 74 pitches in 3 2/3 innings work, Petrucci (four runs, four hits and three strikeouts) was pulled for senior Matt Marchant.

Marchant didn’t bring much relief, as the Cougars added two more runs in the inning.

Trent Bianco got to Marchant first, reaching base on a double before scoring on a wild pitch and an error on catcher Richard Flores’s throw to third baseman Scott Booker.

Flores’s wide throw to third was the first of three errors by the junior catcher.

“It was his first game, and he had three errors and we as a team had three errors,” Thomas said. “I’m confident he’ll never do that again.”

Marchant would end the inning, striking out center fielder Jonnie Geiger.

Marchant would last two more outs in the fifth inning before leaving the game with 33 pitches thrown in one inning for zero earned runs three walks and a strikeout.

In total, five VSU pitchers combined for nine strikeouts, eight walks and seven hits allowed in their first game of the season.

“From a pitching standpoint,” Thomas said. “In our intrasquad games there was no sign of these walks.”

The Blazers’ lone run of the game came in the second inning on a Brooker double.

Leading off the inning, Harris dropped a hit in between the second baseman and centerfielder, reaching first safely.

After a line drive out by Seymour and a fielder’s choice by Brooker, Harris scored on a Kohle Paul double down the right field line.

“On the other side of the ledger, we have to score runs,” Thomas said. “What that is, is a lack of confidence.

“If we don’t get confidence, we’re not going to hit.”

Valdosta State will return to Billy Grant field Friday to play in the Ralph Starling Classic at 4:30 p.m.

Any Valdosta Red Sox players are invited to join Thomas, the Blazers and Mayor John Fretti in honoring Starling in front of his family.

The Blazers’ rotation heading into the weekend is right-hander Brad Altone against Eckerd, Marchant Saturday and righty Chris Davison Sunday.