VALDOSTA — Valdosta State won its 11th game of the season, beating Eckerd 9-3, but a last-inning run in the final game gave Tampa a 3-2 win over the Lady Blazers Sunday.

Valdosta State (11-3) split its two games with Tampa, and went 3-1 overall in the Chick-Fil-A Crossover tournament this weekend at the VSU Softball Complex.

The No. 15 Lady Blazers will travel to Albany State today for a doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m.

Tampa 3, VSU 2

The final game of the tournament saw Tampa’s Deanna Henriott locked in a pitcher’s duel with VSU’s Brianna Collis. The game was tied 2-2 going into the top of the seventh.

In the seventh, Collis quickly retired the first two hitters, then got two strikes on Sam Becker before walking her. Then a Collis pitch got away and hit Krystal Crooks in the head. That brought up Jessica Keefe, who lined a single to center field. Pinch runner Ashley Carrea raced around to score the winning run.

Henriott (4-1) then retired the side in the bottom of the seventh.

In the top of the first, an errant throw enabled Ashley Arcuri to reach second, and she came home on an RBI single by Keefe.

Valdosta State responded with two runs in the bottom of the first, courtesy of Robin Williams. With Andi Braswell on first, the senior first baseman ripped into a pitch from Henriott, and hit it over the left field fence for a two-run homer, giving VSU a 2-1 lead.

The Lady Spartans tied the score in the top of the third. Arcuri led off with a double off the left field fence. Three batters later, with runners on the corners, Keefe’s sacrifice fly to center scored Arcuri, and made it 2-2.

Then the pitchers began trading zeroes on the scoreboard.

Henriott pitched a complete game, allowing just four hits and two runs, striking out nine. Keefe drove in all three Tampa runs.

Collis relieved starter Ashley Hill in the fourth inning, and pitched 3.2 innings in relief, allowing a run on two hits. Hill yielded two runs, one earned, on two hits in 3.1 innings.

Williams (2-for-3, 2 RBIs) was the only player on either team with more than one hit.

VSU 9, Eckerd 3

Valdosta State got a tougher battle from the winless Eckerd team than it had hoped for. But inevitably, the Lady Blazers’ bats came alive in the final two innings, and they walked away with a 9-3 victory.

Kristina Ely had a big game, going 3-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored and three RBIs for VSU. Alex Acosta and Rebecca Aszman both went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.

Eckerd took an early 2-0 lead, scoring twice in the bottom of the first. Janielle Sedoris led off with a single, and came home on her twin sister Danielle’s double off the fence in center. With two outs, back-to-back errors on the third baseman allowed the Lady Tritons to score another run, making it 2-0.

Valdosta State struggled to put runners on early in the game, and trailed the winless Lady Tritons heading into the top of the fourth.

Then Ely changed that. With Shannon Cleland on first, following a walk, Ely drilled a Mackenzie Dawson pitch over the fence in center field to tie the score at 2-2.

The Lady Blazers took the lead an inning later. With one out, Braswell doubled to center, and moved to third on Kelsey Case’s ground out. Then Acosta hit a line drive to center field. Eckerd center fielder Clarinda Choice got to the ball, but dropped it, and Braswell scored to make it 3-2.

Eckerd tied it again in the bottom of the fifth. Choice led off with an infield single, then stole second and took third on a Danielle Sedoris bunt. Aleena Oimoen followed with an RBI single, making it 3-3.

But the Lady Blazers took control of the game in the final two innings, scoring three times in the sixth and three more in the seventh.

Cleland opened the bottom of the sixth with a walk, and stole second. Ely followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Cleland, and giving the Lady Blazers the lead for good. Then Collis laid down a bunt that Dawson threw past the first baseman. Ely scored, and Collis made it all the way to third. Collis was tagged out at the plate on a fielder’s choice, but two batters later, Aszman scored when the catcher threw the ball into left field on a stolen base attempt, making it 6-3.

VSU put the game away with three more runs in the seventh. Leading off the seventh, Acosta ripped into a pitch and blasted it into the Ashley Cinemas parking lot in center field. Dawson walked three of the next four batters, loading the bases. With two outs, Aszman lined a shot up the middle. Pinch runner Leslie Van Kirk and Ely scored, increasing the lead to 9-3.

Kristen Lindsey (5-2) was the winning pitcher, holding the Lady Tritons to one run and six hits in six innings of relief.

In the other games Sunday, Tampa defeated West Florida, 6-3, while West Florida scored five runs in the top of the seventh to defeat Eckerd, 5-0.