VALDOSTA, Ga. – A scoring barrage on Saturday, combined with two more impressive pitching performances, allowed the Valdosta State Blazer softball team to post two impressive Gulf South Conference victories (9-0, 15-1) over West Alabama at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.
 
Caitlyn Calhoun set two new program records in front of a large crowd on Saturday when she dealt her fifth consecutive shutout in game one of the twin bill, and upped her stretch of scoreless innings pitched to 33.1. Calhoun passed Alanna Hadley on both counts and joined only eight other pitchers in the history of the Gulf South Conference to have thrown five or more straight shutouts.
 
The Blazers proved on Saturday why they are ranked among the top two teams in the nation with a GSC sweep that gave the red and black their 15^th consecutive win and lifted the team to 25-2 on the year and 12-1 in league play. The struggling Tigers saw their record fall to 9-13 overall and 3-10 in conference play.

Since the injury to Courtney Albritton, VSU's leading hitter, the team has come together as a unit to produce a balanced effort in which they have posted four straight wins and have outscored their opponents 31-3.

"We are helping each other relax," said Fran Johnson, who joins Albritton as one of just two seniors on the 2015 squad. "When we hit well, it takes pressure off of our pitchers. When our pitchers do what they've been doing, it takes pressure off of our hitters. Our pitchers have been working so hard, and I'm incredibly proud of all of them. If they keep doing what they've done lately, I feel like we're going to do big things this year."
 
Valdosta State scored quickly in game one when Brandy Morgan delivered a first inning single to drive in Johnson, who walked earlier in the inning and stole second to place herself in scoring position. Morgan's first inning RBI represented one of seven on the day for the young left fielder and improved her season total to a team high 28.
 
In the second inning, Jaime Phillips delivered a three run bomb to put the Blazers on top 4-0, and Johnson connected for a home run of her own one batter later. The back-to-back homers ignited a six-run second inning for the Blazers that was capped off by Morgan, who hit the third long ball of the inning just three batters later, a two run shot to right center that gave Valdosta State a 7-0 lead.
 
After another scoreless inning from Calhoun, VSU scored two additional runs in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run single off the bat of junior Kiley Rusen. The clutch hit brought home both Phillips and Johnson and gave VSU the padding they needed to claim a 9-0, five-inning victory by way of the mercy rule.
 
Calhoun's line in game one included seven strikeouts and just one walk. She allowed just one hit on the day, a leadoff single by UWA center fielder Lydia North in the top of the first inning. The Hamilton, Ohio native improved to 14-1 on the year and claimed her 13^th consecutive complete-game victory.
 
The story of game two was an offensive bombardment in the fourth inning in which Valdosta State scored 12 runs on eight hits and one Tiger error. The scoring started with Phillips, who plated three runs with a bases-loaded double early in the half-inning, and Johnson bookended the frame with a three-run home run to center field for her fifth round tripper of the season. VSU sent 16 batters to the plate in the inning and saw RBI base hits by Phillips, Johnson, Chelsea Canara, and Heather Robinson, which helped the Blazers extend their lead to 15-0.

"Whenever you see your teammates up there hitting balls hard, it makes you want to get up there for a chance to do what your team expects you to do," said Johnson of the Blazers' monster inning. "You want to do whatever you can to keep it going." 
 
Maci Fletcher replaced Huntyre Elling in the fifth inning and allowed one run before striking out West Alabama's Libby Davis to seal the deal. Elling picked up the win with a line of three strikeouts, two walks, and four hits allowed over four scoreless innings of work. The junior improved her record to a perfect 7-0 on the season.
 
The series concludes tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park, as the Blazers go for the weekend sweep. Live stats and live video will be provided for the Sunday's finale at www.vstateblazers.com.