CLEVELAND –The No. 18 Statesmen (34-15-1) of Delta State University came apart at the seams in the bottom of ninth inning, as the No. 15 Blazers (38-17) scored three runs off reliever Jason Coats (7-1) to claim a come-from-behind 5-4 victory at Ferriss Field in the first round of the Morgan Keegan Gulf South Conference Tournament. With the loss, the Statesmen slip into the loser's bracket and will face the Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville on Tuesday at 1 p.m., while the Blazers face No. 4 Southern Arkansas at 8 p.m.

After loading the bases with no outs, Valdosta State took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI groundout by Chris Jones.

Jones factored into the Valdosta game plan again in the fifth, as the senior plated the second run for the Blazers off Clayton Cain's sac-fly RBI.

Delta State finally got to VSU starter Brett Kennedy, chasing the junior right-hander from the game with three runs on four hits in the top of the seventh to take a 3-2 lead. Chase Blanchard's two-RBI double to left and Chris Escobar's RBI groundout gave the Statesmen the runs they needed.

After relieving Kelley in the bottom of the eighth, Jason Coats worked out of a jam with runners on second and third with no one out. The senior from Starkville got Josh Vining to line out to third, Jon Koenigsfield to ground out to third and Ryan Danbury to ground out to the pitcher to escape the sticky situation.

In the top of the ninth, the Statesmen scored an insurance run on a pass ball by Vining that allowed Will McGinnis to score from third. McGinnis walked to start the inning and quickly advanced to third on a pass ball and a sac bunt by Patrick Taylor.

VSU got a leadoff single from Antonio Clarke to open the bottom of the ninth off Coats. Clayton Cain followed with a fly out to center. An error by DSU's Chase Blanchard allowed Clarke to move to third and Austin Smith to reach first safely. Jake Summers delivered an RBI double to left center to make it 4-3. After intentionally walking Jordan Yost, Coats got Josh Vining to ground out. With two outs and Jon Koenigsfeld at the plate, a wild pitch by Coats allowed the runners to move up 90 feet and tie the game at 4-4. After fouling off two pitches, Koenigsfeld delivered the game-winning RBI single to center for the 5-4 win.

Coats (7-1) took the loss after working the final two innings, allowing three runs on four hits with one walk. Kelley worked seven solid innings, allowing just two runs, one earned, on seven hits with five walks and two strikeouts.

Kent Rowe, who gave up one run on one hit, worked the final 2.1 innings to earn the win for the Blazers. Kennedy tossed 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Summers led the Blazers at the plate, going 3-for-5 with an RBI.

Blanchard went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to pace the Statesmen.