West Florida scored seven times in the first inning to run away with an 11-4 victory over Delta State in the deciding third game of the Gulf South Conference championship series on Thursday afternoon.
The Argonauts (34-9) built an early 9-0 lead after just two frames that never felt threatened by the visiting Statesmen (28-18). DSU won Tuesday’s opener thanks to a two-run home run by Darek Sargent before West Florida evened the series with a 5-2 win on Wednesday, setting up Thursday’s winner-take-all showdown.
Statesmen starting pitcher Josh Lewis was chased from the mound after recording only one out. The senior Southern Miss transfer was charged with six runs, five of them earned, in the loss.
Wyatt Pratt, Blayke Dendy and Jake Barlow each tallied RBI singles for DSU, which entered the conference tournament as the fifth seed. The Argonauts were ranked second.
The Statesmen now await their postseason fate at Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show.
DSU was ranked No. 25 in the latest Division II baseball rankings while West Florida was No. 3.
- Contact Riley Overend at 581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @OverendOut on Twitter.
