VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State Blazers return to Gulf South Conference action this weekend with a three-game series at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park against the rival Tigers of West Alabama.
The week has been an eventful one for the Blazers with two victories on Tuesday over Florida Tech, followed by the announcement on Wednesday of
Caitlyn Calhoun's second National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Week award of 2015. In addition, the NFCA announced that Valdosta State had retained its position as the No. 2 ranked team in Division II softball.
Riding high on a 13 game winning streak, the Blazers aim to keep it rolling this weekend, and if the VSU pitching staff continues to perform as they have in recent weeks, Blazer Nation could be looking at another big weekend for the red and black.
Calhoun earned the aforementioned NFCA National Pitcher of the Week award in recognition of three complete game shutouts last week, one of which was a no-hitter against the Florida Southern Moccassins at Steel's Diamond. The junior dealt another shutout on Tuesday to extend her shutout streak to four games.
The success of Head Coach
Thomas Macera's pitching contingent extends beyond Calhoun as well. Through the unit's last seven outings, the Blazer pitching staff has been nearly unhittable. During that stretch, Calhoun,
Huntyre Elling, and
Maci Fletcher teamed up to post a perfect 7-0 record with 45 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. VSU also established an ERA of 0.45 during the run and allowed just 15 hits.
Throughout that same seven-game stretch that began on March 3rd, the Blazer offense has blistered opposing pitching and has outscored opponents 32-3. Since the Delta State series at the beginning of the month, the team has tallied 37 hits, 25 RBI's, six doubles, and five homers.
The Tigers have lost six of their last seven games, but their most recent contest against was a win for UWA over conference foe Lee. The Blazers last faced the Tigers in a Saturday doubleheader that took place in Livingston, Ala. on March 14, 2014. Since the two teams faced each other almost exactly one calendar year ago, the Tigers have posted a 18-21 record, while the Blazers have since put together a 49-7 stint.
West Alabama brings a 9-11 overall record and a 3-8 GSC record to Valdosta, while the Blazers enter the weekend at 23-2 overall and 10-1 in the GSC play.This weekend's series will begin on Saturday with a doubleheader opener at 3:00 p.m., and the finale is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday afternoon. All three games will be carried live with both live stats and live video available at www.vstateblazers.com. Live updates will also be provided throughout the weekend on the official VSU Athletics Twitter feed (@BlazerAthletics).
