OXFORD, Ala. — The 2023 Gulf South Conference Baseball Championship reached day three from Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. Sixth-seeded Shorter was eliminated by No. 8 Delta State, 9-6, while top-seeded West Florida stayed alive with a 9-5 win over No. 2 Montevallo. No. 4-seed Valdosta State remained unbeaten with a 13-9 victory over No. 7 Lee.
With four teams remaining, the tournament will continued on Monday with West Florida facing Lee in an elimination game at 11 am CT, while Delta State will try to stave off elimination against Valdosta State. First pitch is slated for 2 pm CT.
Fans unable to enjoy the action from Choccolocco Park are able to stream both games and watch replays from previous game in the tournament on FloSports. For more information, visit gscsports.org/bsb23.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
DELTA STATE 9, SHORTER 6
The Statesmen wasted little time getting on the board as Brendan McCauley accounted for the opening tally with a solo home run in the first before Noah Thigpen drove a run across in the second. Brett Cobb then extended the DSU advantage to 5-0 in the third.
In the fifth, Shorter cut the deficit to two receiving runs from Kody Krause, Norman Leon and Kobe Jones to make it 5-3. Jones then gave the Hawks a 6-5 lead with a three-run double in the sixth.
The lead though quickly evaporated in the seventh as Kirkland Trahan’s second homer of the day tied the game at 6-6. Hayden Cooper then gave DSU the go-ahead run with a solo shot of his own. Thigpen then pushed a run across before Cobb added to the DSU cause with a RBI in the eighth.
WEST FLORIDA 9, MONTEVALLO 5
UWF led 2-0 early with runs from Jadon Fryman and True Fontenot in the second. The Falcons responded in the third with a two-run hit from Luke Mitchell to take a 3-2 lead, before Jake Smallwood homered in the fifth to make it 4-2. The Argos tied it in the home half of the fifth with a two-run double.
Reed Latimer nudged UM to a 5-4 margin in the sixth, but UWF again drew level with a Fontenot home run. Then in the seventh, Jackson Grabsky and Josh Prizina helped the Argos avoid elimination with a pair of two-run homers.
VALDOSTA STATE 13, LEE 9
The Flames and Blazers torched the ball as they combined for a 2023 tournament-high 30 hits in Sunday’s night cap, as Lee finished with a slim 16-14 advantage in the hit column.
Through two and half innings, Valdosta State led 5-1, before Lee hung up a six-spot in the home half of the third. Dylan Standifer sparked the rally with a RBI-double. Brandon Daniels then did the same a few batters later tying the game at five-all. Riley Black then followed with a two-run homer, giving the Flames a 7-5 lead.
Lee’s control the of the board however was short-lived as it swung back to the Blazers’ side after a JP Gates three-run home run make it 8-7 in the fourth.VSU eventually stretched the lead to 11-7 midway through six. The Flames trimmed the deficit to 11-9 in the bottom of the sixth, but the rally was not enough as VSU’s Hunter Stowe plated a pair of insurance runs in the ninth.