ALBANY, Ga. - The Valdosta State softball team outscored Albany State 29-1 on the day to pick up two non-conference wins (21-0, 8-1) over the Golden Rams on Tuesday in Albany, Ga.
The win in game one marked the first time the Blazers have scored 20-plus runs since another 21-0 win, which, ironically, came almost exactly five years ago on February 15, 2012 against Albany State.
The pair of victories boosted the Blazers to 9-2 on the season and dropped the Golden Rams to 1-9 overall.
Valdosta State's offensive onslaught was highlighted by a 10-run fourth inning, during which
Chelsea Canara unloaded on a pitch and sent it far beyond the left field well for a grand slam. The four-run blast moved Canara to second place on the Gulf South Conference RBI leaderboard (16) and helped push the Blazers out in front 19-0 after four innings of play.
The comfortable lead allowed
Avery Lamb to settle in for the victory and pushed the freshman to the top of the league with six wins thus far on the season. Furthermore, Lamb picked up her third complete game shutout and dropped her ERA to 2.80.
In game two, ASU starter Tiffany Massey held the Blazer bats in check, allowing just two runs during the first four innings. Meanwhile, Albany State used three singles and an RBI by Brianna Murillo to pull to within one at 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning. Blazer starter
Kathryn Carter (2-0) induced two consecutive pop-ups on the next two at-bats, however, to strand a pair and retain the narrow lead.
Valdosta State came alive on the offense the rest of the way and opened up an 8-1 lead with runs in each of the last three innings, including a three-run seventh.
On the day,
Jessica Mohl went 4-for-6 with six runs scored,
Hayley Cruthers teamed up with
Brandy Morgan for back-to-back homers in game one, and freshman
Amber Kling made the most of her first collegiate start with a 2-for-3 effort as game two's designated hitter.
The Blazers now turn their attention to the GSC opening series against the Christian Brothers Lady Bucs. The three-game set will kick off on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in Memphis, Tenn., with coverage available at www.vstateblazers.com.
