HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The No. 1 Valdosta State Blazers split (0-3, 5-3) with the No. 13 Alabama-Huntsville Chargers in a Gulf South Conference doubleheader showdown on Friday afternoon at Charger Park in Huntsville, Ala.
 
The Blazers moved to 37-3 overall on the season and saw their record shift to 20-2 in GSC play. Meanwhile, the Chargers finished the day with a 29-9 overall record, 15-6 against conference opponents.
 
In game one, the third inning proved to be a costly one for Caitlyn Calhoun and the Blazers, as Victoria Crumpton led off the frame with the Chargers' first hit of the game, a single to right field. Crumpton promptly stole second base and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt before Brianna Sullivan slapped an RBI single through the left side. Two batters later, UAH added on with one swing of Kaitlyn Bannister's bat that resulted in a two-run home run and gave the Chargers a 3-0 lead.
 
Valdosta State's biggest threat came in the fifth inning after Chelsea Canara led off the inning with a single up the middle and gave way to pinch runner Brittany Smith. A wild pitch allowed Smith to advance to second base, and an infield single placed runners at the corners with two outs. Jaime Phillips came to the plate for the Blazers and hit a soft liner down the left field line, but Sullivan denied Phillips' bid for an RBI with a sliding catch for the third and final out.
 
The loss ended a 26 game winning streak for Valdosta State and snapped a streak for Calhoun of 20 consecutive victories. She fell to 21-2 overall, despite nine strikeouts on the day and just five hits allowed.
 
In game two, Huntyre Elling came up big for VSU in the early innings with five straight scoreless innings pitched. The stretch included a second inning in which the junior hurler gave up a walk and a double before two pop-ups and a liner stranded both runners in scoring position. The Blazer offense took full advantage of Elling's Houdini act with two runs scored in the top half of the fourth inning that afforded the red and black a 2-0 lead.
 
Jaime Phillips started things off with a single to left center, and Fran Johnson reached when Bannister fielded a sacrifice bunt attempt and threw late to second base in an effort to try and cut down the lead runner. With two aboard and one out, Brandy Morgan slapped a grounder to second that was misplayed by UAH second baseman Victoria Frith. Jennifer Phillips capitalized on the opportunity with an RBI fielder's choice to second base, and VSU scored again during the ensuing at bat when Jennifer Phillips stole second base and drew a throw that allowed Johnson to cross.
 
After a scoreless fifth, Valdosta State added three insurance runs on three hits and another UAH error. Kiley Rusen led off with a sharp single to left field and was followed by Morgan, who crushed an RBI double into the gap in right center that allowed pinch runner Taylor Hartenbach to score all the way from first. Jennifer Phillips was hit by a pitch for the 18^th time this season to place runners at the corners, before a poor throw on a pickoff attempt by UAH catcher Abby Roberts allowed Morgan to score and put the Blazers on top 4-0. Jennifer Phillips moved to third on the play and came in to score when Canara blasted an RBI double over the head of Sullivan in left field.
 
The Blazers' 5-0 lead was threatened in the bottom of the sixth, when Emily Glover hit the second long ball of the day for the Chargers, a two-out, three-run blast over the wall in left field that cut VSU's lead to 5-3. Maci Fletcher came on to pitch for the Blazers after the homer and induced a groundout to second base to end the inning.
 
Fletcher shut down UAH the rest of the way to help Elling claim her 11^th win of the season.
 
The rubber match is scheduled to take place tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST at Charger Park in Huntsville, Ala. Blazer Nation can follow live stats or listen to a live audio broadcast with links available at www.vstateblazers.com.