Cougars Fall Short in Slugfest Against Valdosta State
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valdosta St. (24-16) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 19 | 2 |
| Columbus St. (28-19) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 3 |
| @ Columbus, GA | Ragsdale Field | ||||||||||||
| Pitching |
|---|
| Win: D. Demasi (1-0) - Valdosta St. |
| Loss: Levi Futo (3-3) - Columbus St. |
| Valdosta St. Batting |
|---|
| 2B: B. Jackson; C. Glisson 2; C. Graves |
| 3B: none |
| HR: none |
| Columbus St. Batting |
|---|
| 2B: Brett Teschner |
| 3B: none |
| HR: Eric Weiss 2 |
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Columbus – The Columbus State University baseball team put together a valiant comeback scoring six runs in the bottom of the ninth including three on Eric Weiss' second three-run home run of the night but fell short as Valdosta State hung on for a 14-13 victory Wednesday night. The game took place at Ragsdale Field on the campus of CSU.
Entering the ninth inning down 14-7, the Cougars got things going when Cyle Rasmus drew a one-out walk. After Rasmus stole second and J.D. Pullen reach base on a dropped third strike, Navarro Hall ripped a single to rightfield scoring Rasmus and extending his hitting streak to 15-games. A Cameron Scott infield hit loaded the bases for Brett Teschner who hit a double right over the third base bag chasing home two.
Weiss then launched his second three-run shot over the rightfield wall bringing the Cougars within one. A fly out and a strikeout ended the game as the Blazers held on for the victory.
Valdosta State (24-16) took an early lead on a RBI groundout and a run scoring single by Bryant Hayman in the first.
Weiss put the Cougars (28-19) ahead in the bottom of the first after Scott drew a two-out walk and Teschner singled through the left side of the infield. On a 0-1 pitch, Weiss skied a ball over the rightfield wall for his third home run of the season.
After the Blazers tied the game in the third, VSU put a three spot on the board thanks to a couple of Columbus State errors. With two on and two-out , Christian Glisson grounder a ball to CSU shortstop Kenny Miller but the sophomore missed played the ball allowing a run to score.
Cameron Graves took advantage of the extra out as he laced a single to rightfield scoring another run and the throw to the plate got passed Teschner allowing Glisson to score all the way from first to give the visitors a 6-3 lead.
Valdosta State scored another unearned run in the fifth as Miller tried to complete a double play that would have ended the inning but his throw was low skipping past Logan Dollar at first allowing a runner from second to score.
After the Blazers put up a five spot in the seventh highlighted by a Buster Jackson two-run double, Dollar singled to rightfield with one-out giving the Cougars their first hit since the second inning. A fielder's choice and a Rasmus single put runners on the corners for Pullen who drove in a run after reaching base on another fielder's choice.
The Blazers added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a controversial call at first base. With two-outs and runners on second and third, Glisson hit a ball between first and second where Rasmus made a nice diving play and threw the ball to first. The umpire called Glisson safe on a bang-bang play and a heads up play by Steven Groves allowed him to score from second.
The Cougars rallied would then proceed in the bottom of the ninth as they came up one run short.
Eric Weiss was 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs while Brett Teschner was 2-for-5 with two runs batted in. Logan Dollar and Cameron Scott also added two hits for the Cougars.
Levi Futo (3-3) was hit with the loss throwing the first 6.1 innings of the game allowing 11 runs (seven earned) on 14 hits. Patrick Devault and Hart Mizell gave up one and two runs, respectively.
CSU allowed a season high 19 hits.
Buster Jackson and Christian Glisson both went 4-for-6 for Valdosta State. Jackson had two RBIs while Glisson knocked in three. Austin Lawrence added three hits for the Blazers.
Dom Demasi (1-0) picked up his first victory of the season pitching three hitless innings. He struck out one while issuing one free pass.
Columbus State will wrap-up play in the regular season this weekend traveling to St. Augustine, Florida to take on Flagler in a three-game Peach Belt Conference series. The series will begin on Saturday, April 28 at 1:00 p.m.
