MILLINGTON, Tenn. — Valdosta State catcher Chase Blackwood has hit four home runs in the Gulf South Conference tournament, but none was bigger than his second homer on Wednesday against Harding.

Blackwood broke an 8-8 tie with the Bisons with a titanic solo homer in the top of the 10th to give VSU a 9-8 lead. The Bisons then went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 10th against reliever Austin Smith, and VSU avoided elimination in the GSC tournament for the second consecutive day with a 9-8 win.

“It was a lot of weight lifted off of my shoulders,” Blackwood said. “For us seniors, it could have been our last game. None of us want to go home. We’ve worked so hard this year, and we want to make that regional and keep playing. Running around those bases, I was thinking, ‘This isn’t my last game.’ Our motto here has been ‘One more day.’ So far, it’s held true.”

VSU (40-18) led the game 8-1 after 5 1/2 innings, but the Bisons, also facing elimination, put together a furious rally. Harding (32-25) scored a run in the sixth, three runs in the seventh and three in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 8-8.

With two outs and the game tied at 8-8 in the ninth, Smith got Will McDonald to strike out swinging with the winning run 90 feet away on third base for Harding.

Bisons reliever Dakota Gardner got two quick outs to start the 10th inning, but served up the game-winning home run to Blackwood that landed halfway up a tree 30 feet beyond the wall in left center.

“As long as it puts us ahead, I don’t care how far it went,” Blackwood said. “I’m here to win this tournament, and whatever I can do to help our team, I’m all for it.”

It was Blackwood’s 20th homer of the season which ties him with teammate Brandon Decker for the most in the GSC.

“I felt like everyone in the dugout was thinking the same thing I was — ‘Hit one out,’” Guilliams said. “The pitcher made a mistake, and left the ball up. That was probably the furthest home run I’ve seen him hit this year.”

The win keeps VSU’s hopes for a GSC title and a berth in the South Regional tournament alive. The Blazers will take on West Florida today at 2 p.m. Eastern time in another elimination game.

“At this point, with where we are at, and how we’re depleted pitching-wise, we’ll come out hopefully with the attitude that we have nothing to lose, because that’s really the situation we’re in,” Guilliams said.

VSU jumped out to an early lead. Blackwood, batting second in the Blazers’ lineup, hit a two-run homer in the top of the first to put VSU up 2-0.

The Bisons got on the board in the second on a two-out RBI single off of starter Jeremy Forbus to make it 2-1.

The game remained 2-1 until the top of the fifth, when VSU plated five runs to make it 7-1. Decker led off with a walk and moved to third on a single by Matt Costello. Clayton Cain followed with an RBI single that scored Decker and moved Costello to third. Costello scored on an RBI ground out by Smith and Cain scored from second on an RBI double by Blaine Wilson. Logan Pierce singled to left to score Wilson, and later in the inning, Pierce stole home to make it 7-1.

VSU added a run to make it 8-1 in the sixth. With the bases loaded, reliever D.A. Kremer uncorked a wild pitch, which allowed Costello to come home from third.