MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – With two bases open on opening day, Columbus State elected to pitch to last season's NCAA home run queen, and Courtney Albritton made the Cougars pay with a walk-off round tripper that capped off a non-conference double header sweep (11-0, 5-4) for Valdosta State on a cold Saturday night in Milledgeville, Ga..
 
The pair of victories opened up a 2-0 record for the Blazers on the 2015 season, while CSU fell to 0-2.
 
Albritton's walk-off blast in the bottom of the eighth inning of the nightcap put an exclamation point on a day in which the senior All-American went 4-for-9 and racked up four runs scored and three RBI's. The home run marked the 64^th of Albritton's career, and began a senior season chase for the NCAA Division II all-time home run record, which currently stands at 79.
 
The Blazer offense came to life in game one with a four-run third that began with back-to-back walks to Jaime and Jennifer Phillips. After the Cougars turned a 4-6-3 double play to account for the first two outs of the inning, Fran Johnson drew a walk to place runners on the corners, and All-GSC sophomore Chelsea Canara answered the call with a double that plated two runs and put the Blazers in front 3-0.
 
The inning continued when Albritton swung for one of her three hits in the game, a single down the line that brought Canara in to score. In the following at bat, freshman Brandy Morgan came through with an RBI double that drove in the fifth and final runs of the inning. The two-bagger to left center field accounted for the first hit of Morgan's young career, and gave VSU a 5-0 advantage in the third.
 
Three innings later, Johnson cashed in on an at-bat with the bases loaded when the senior lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to drive home Brandi Blount for her first RBI of the season. The insurance run opened up a 6-0 lead for VSU in the fifth.
 
The offensive assault continued in the seventh, when Valdosta, Ga. native Heather Robinson delivered a bases-loaded single for two RBI's, and junior transfer Bree Wells followed with a single through the six hole to drive in her first RBI of her VSU career. Johnson's contributions continued in the next at-bat, when the Blazer right fielder opened up an 11-0 lead for VSU after she blasted a two-RBI double to the left center gap
 
The Cougars never posed much of a threat against junior hurler Caitlyn Calhoun, who struck out four batters in the shutout, gave up just three hits, and allowed CSU to reach second base just two times in the contest. The win marked Calhoun's first of the year.
 
CSU sent five different pitchers to the circle in the game, and they combined to allow a 14 walks. The total set a new single-game record for the most walks drawn by a Blazer team in the history of the program. Additionally, the patient effort at the plate placed the Blazers tied for fifth in the GSC record books among five other teams who also drew 14 walks in a single contest.
 
The Blazers took an early lead in game two after Robinson blasted a two-out, RBI double off the left field wall to bring home Morgan, who walked earlier in the frame. The run put the Blazers up 1-0, and marked Robinson's third RBI of the day.
 
VSU tacked on a another run in the third inning when Kiley Rusen reached on a single and gave way to pinch runner Taylor Hartenbach, who stole second to move into scoring position. Two batters later, Jennifer Phillips blistered an RBI double to left center field. The run gave VSU a 2-0 advantage
 
Huntyre Elling, the game two starter and a junior transfer from Indian River State, retired 12 straight batters before her perfect game bid was denied in the fifth inning. Kristen Carr, CSU's cleanup hitter and designated player, started the frame with a leadoff double down the left field line, and came around to score after a single and a sacrifice fly to cut the Cougar's deficit to 2-1.
 
One inning later, CSU tied the game on a solo shot off the bat of number nine hitter Lee Anne Rees. A walk to the next batter ended the day for Elling, and Head Coach Thomas Macera called on sophomore Maci Fletcher. After issuing a walk, Fletcher made a nice defensive play to cut down the leadoff runner at third, but the Cougars capitalized on an error by Jennifer Phillips at third base in the next at bat to score the go ahead run.
 
Trailing by one run in the bottom of the sixth inning, Wells belted a one-out double to left center and came around to score two batters later, when Canara slapped a game-tying single back through the box and into center field to tie the game back up at three apiece.
 
Neither team scored again until the eighth, when Kailey Boone roped an RBI double to put the Cougars up 4-3. One half-inning later, Johnson was placed on second base in acknowledgement of the international tie-breaker rule, and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Canara to set the stage for Albritton's heroics.

Fletcher earned the win, and finished with one run allowed on three hits in three innings of work.
 
Valdosta State returns to action on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for a double header against the hosting Bobcats of Georgia College and State. The pair of games were originally slated for a 4:30 p.m. start, but were moved up two hours due to the expectation of inclement weather later on Sunday.