CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Valdosta State softball team made a big splash on the first night of the Eckerd Spring Invitational with a nine-run fourth inning that led to an abbreviated 12-0 win over South Region opponent Tampa on Friday night in Clearwater, Fla.

Heading into a scoreless second inning, the Lady Blazers took advantage of a costly error by Spartan shortstop Sahrina Cortes that allowed Taylor Hartenbach to reach with one out. Chelsea Canara, who walked in the previous at-bat, moved up to second base on the miscue, and Patterson capitalized with an RBI single back through the middle. Hartenbach moved up to third on Patterson's base hit, and scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to put the Blazers up 2-0. Patterson, who advanced to third on the wild pitch, came in to score on a sacrifice fly to center field off the bat of Kiley Rusen, and the Blazers finished the top half of the frame with a 3-0 lead.

Two innings later, the Blazers put the game away with a fourth inning offensive explosion, in which the Blazers scored nine runs on five hits. Three of VSU's five hits in the frame came with the bases-loaded, including a three-run triple by Chelsea Canara, her fourth career triple and first of the 2016 season. Hartenbach also played a big part of the surge with two hits, two runs scored, an RBI, and a stolen base in the fourth inning alone. The sophomore center fielder finished the day with three runs scored, and three other Blazers (Canara, Rusen, and Hayley Cruthers) finished with multiple RBI's in the game.

Caitlyn Calhoun, now 4-0, allowed eight hitters to reach in the contest, but muted the Spartans anyway for her third shutout of the season thanks to seven strikeouts, six of which came with runners on base.

With the victory, VSU improved to 6-1 overall on the year, while the Spartans fell to 1-1 on the year.

Action continues tomorrow in Clearwater, Fla. for Valdosta State with two matchups, starting at 11:00 a.m. against the Rollins Tars. Visit the Eckerd Invitational Tournament Page for information on tomorrow's games, and follow us on Twitter (@BlazerAthletics) for live updates on games that don't feature live coverage.