VALDOSTA, Ga. - The seventh-ranked Saint Leo baseball team lost 7-6 on the road against Valdosta State in a non-conference bout on Wednesday evening.

The Lions struck first as junior Dylan McDonald stole home in the second inning to give Saint Leo a 1-0 lead before graduate student Buck Anderson drove in senior Caleb Adams on a groundout to second base, 2-0. The Blazers answered back with a three-run bottom of the second inning to grasp a 3-2 edge. In the third, graduate student Yazael Nunez tied the game at 3-3 with a sacrifice-fly to left field followed by McDonald blasting an RBI-single up the middle, giving the Green and Gold a 4-3 cushion.

Valdosta State scored the next four consecutive runs as it claimed a 7-4 advantage in the fourth. The Lions cut their deficit to 7-6 in the fifth after McDonald earned an RBI with a single to left field followed by Anderson notching a sacrifice-fly to right field. In the ninth, Nunez stole second base to get into scoring position, however, Nunez did not score.

McDonald went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored while Adams recorded three hits. Nunez finished the game with a pair of hits and one RBI. Anderson drove in two scores and was walked twice. On the mound, senior Aedan Walter started for the Lions and surrendered seven runs on 10 hits and struck out a pair of batters in 3.1 innings. In relief, senior Kaelan Racculia tallied three strikeouts and allowed just one hit in 3.2 innings.

Saint Leo returns to action on Friday, April 19 as it travels to Lynn for a Sunshine State Conference (SSC) contest, starting at 3 p.m.