CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Delta State University baseball team (15-10, 13-10 GSC) plated three runs in the 11^th innings to claim a 15-14 win a series sweep of Valdosta State University (14-12, 12-11 GSC) on Saturday at Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field.  The Statesmen held off the Blazes to claim a 4-3 win in game one of the doubleheader. Kade Dees was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cap a three-run innings to help the Statesmen erase a 14-12 deficit in the 11^th inning to win the night cap 15-14.  
 
 
THE BASICS
GAME 1 FINAL:  Delta State 4 | Valdosta State 3
GAME 2 FINAL:  Delta State 15 | Valdosta State 14 (11 inn.)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, April 3, 2021
GAME 1 START: 1 p.m. | TOG: 2:18
GAME 2 START: 3:45 p.m. | TOG: 3:43
LOCATION: Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field | Cleveland, Miss.
RECORDS: Statesmen: (15-10, 13-10 GSC) | Blazers (14-12, 12-11 GSC)
SERIES: Delta State leads 32-22 | 13-8 in Cleveland.

HOW IT HAPPENED | GM 1

• Delta State took an early 1-0 lead in the first. Chad Ragland reached on an error and scored from third when Kirkland Trahan grounded into a double play.  
• Two runs crossed the plate in the second to extend the Statesmen lead 3-0. Jake Barlow singled and scored on a triple by Josh Smeltzer . Smeltzer  then scored on a ground out by Wyatt Pratt.
• Blake Wolferding's fourth home run of the season gave the Statesmen a 4-0 advantage in fourth inning.
• Chase Coker doubled and scored on a Jacob Harper double to cut the DSU lead to 4-1 in the fifth.
• Jowenrick Daantji singled and came home on a Logan Stephens sac-fly to cut the deficit to 4-2 in the sixth.
• Valdosta State cut the lead to 4-3 in the eighth on a Stephens single to left.
• TJ Childree worked a three-up, three-down getting pinch hitter Jordan Holt to strikeout swinging to end the game.

ON THE MOUND | GM 1

• Hunter Riggins (4-3) struck out six and allowed three runs, two earned, on nine hits and no walks to earn the win.
• Tristan Cone (3-4) gave up four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts as the pitcher of record for the Blazers.
• Childree earned his fourth save of the season, as he worked a scoreless ninth inning with a strikeout to close the game 

HOW IT HAPPENED | GM 2

• Hayden White walked and scored from third on a sac-fly by Josh Smeltzer to give the Statesmen a 1-0 lead in the first.  
• The Blazers took a 2-1 lead in the third. Collin Teegarden singled and score on a Nick Lewis groundout and Ralph Morla was hit by pitch and scored on a Daantji triple.
• Delta State plated four runs in the third that shut down the VSU rally and take a 5-2 lead. Blake Wolferding hit a three-run homerun and  Wyatt Pratt doubled and scored on the play on a two-base error.
• Derek Sargent doubled and scored on a Chad Ragland single up the middle to extend the Statesmen's lead to 6-2.
• A Jake Barlow two-run home run with Smeltzer on base push the extended the lead  8-2 in the bottom of sixth.
• Nick Lewis belted a three-run home run in the seventh to cut the deficit to 8-5.
• White singled and scored on a Wolferding single to give DSU a 9-5 lead in the home half of the seventh.
• VSU answered with three runs in the top of the eighth to cut the Statesmen lead down to 9-8.
• The Statesmen took a 10-8 lead in the eighth when Pratt singled and scored on a Ragland single up the middle.
• Valdosta State got three runs in the top of the ninth to take an 11-10 lead and Trahan doubled and scored on a wild pitch to send the game to extra innings tied 11-11.
• Daantji, who started the 10^th on second via the Texas Tiebreaker, scored on a Logan Stephens sac-fly to give VSU a 12-11 lead.
• Barlow scored on an error in the bottom of the 10^th to tie game 12-12 going to the 11^th.
• Carson Neal singled and scored on a Stephens sac-fly and Nick Lewis singled and scored from third on a balk as VSU carried a 14-12 lead into the bottom of the 11^th.
• White started the 11^th for DSU at second and Trahan singled to move White to third. White scored on a Wolferding double and Trahan scored to tie the game on a Barlow sac-fly. Pratt walked to load the bases setting up Dees hit by a pitch to end the game.

ON THE MOUND | GM 2

• Charlie Darnall (2-0) got the final out in the top of the 11^th to pick up the win for the Statesmen.  
• Zach Henderson (2-2) started the 11^th inning, yielding three runs, two earned, on two hits, to suffer the loss for Valdosta State.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Wolferding went 2-for-4 with a home run in game one for his sixth multi-hit game of the year.
• Josh Smeltzer had an RBI triple.
• White, Trahan and Barlow each had one hit in game one.
• Trahan had four hits including a pair of doubles to lead the Statesmen in game two.
• Wolferding went 3-for-6 with a home run, a double and four RBI and has reached base safely in 13 straight games.
• White and Pratt collected three hits a piece in game two.
• The Statesmen pounded out a season-high 21 hits.
• The 29 combined runs in game two was the second most combined runs in the series behind Delta State's 19-17 win in the 2017 Gulf South Conference Tournament.
• White reached base safely in both games to extend his reached base streak to 21.
• Ragland extended his hitting streak to nine games and his reached base streak to 13 games in the doubleheader.

UP NEXT

• Delta State hosts the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas University on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Harvey Stadium-Ferriss Field in Cleveland,Miss.