VALDOSTA, Ga. - After an early exit from the 2015 Gulf South Conference Tournament last Friday, the Valdosta State softball team is excited for the opportunity to bounce back this weekend in the NCAA Division II Softball South 1 Regional, scheduled to take place in Valdosta, Ga. at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park from May 8th - May 10th.

The road back to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla. won't be an easy one for the Blazers, who enter the weekend tournament as the No. 1 seed in the south region after compiling a 46-7 overall record on the year. The upcoming tournament is loaded with tough opponents, including the GSC Champion Shorter Lady Hawks (36-15) and the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (39-14), who both teamed up to hand VSU five of their seven losses so far in 2015.

Before facing either of those rivals, however, the Blazers will have to contend with the Southern Intercollegiate Conference Champion Tuskegee Golden Tigers (21-19). Tuskegee, led by Head Coach Edward Colvin, earned the automatic regional bid after claiming their second straight conference championship last weekend. The .307 hitting squad is no stranger to tough competition during postseason play. In fact, just last season, the Golden Tigers upset UAH in the first round of the South Regional tournament with a 7-5 victory over the Chargers.

Head Coach Thomas Macera, who was named the 2015 GSC Head Coach of the Year last week, will aim to turn around his Blazer offense that has faltered in recent weeks. Prior to the Mississippi College series that closed out the regular season two weekends ago, the Valdosta State hitters posted a .324 collective average and plated 369 runs in 48 games for an average of 7.7 runs per contest. In the five games since, the squad has hit just .205 and has scratched out nine tallies for an average of 1.5 runs per game. The team has been hard at it all week in an effort to rectify their hitting woes and return to form in time for NCAA postseason play.

Valdosta State's 7:00 p.m. matchup against Tuskegee on Friday night marks the ninth straight South Regional berth for the Blazer softball program. This postseason, VSU will be gunning for their fourth straight South Regional Title and their fourth straight trip to the NCAA DII National Championship Tournament.

Tournament information, including parking, ticketing, webcast and scheduling info can be found HERE. Check out the 2015 NCAA Division II South 1 Regional bracket HERE.