MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia College & State University Baseball team (22-23) closed out the regular season in style Monday, upsetting No. 17 Valdosta State University (30-16) 9-8 at John Kurtz Field.

The Bobcats trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, plated three there and had a huge five-run seventh to get in front of the Blazers. VSU made things interesting in the ninth, scoring three times and putting the go-ahead run on the bases before GCSU closed things out.

Designated hitter Mason Spivey (Appling) blasted his third home run in as many games, a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth. He finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run. Second baseman Gabriel Wuerth (Woodstock) had a pair of singles in four trips with two runs scored, and catcher Trevor Knowles (Folkston) also went 2-for-4 with a run.

Freshman righty Carter Barnes (Waycross) threw a scoreless seventh to pick up his first career victory (1-0). Rookie lefty Caden Tillman (Hamilton) got the final two outs for his first career save.

The victory is GCSU's highest-ranked win of the season.

The No. 5-seed Bobcats are back in action Friday, May 5 at 2 p.m., taking on No. 4-seed Columbus State University in the opening round of the PBC Double Elimination Tournament pod hosted by Georgia Southwestern State University.

Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won three-straight Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.