VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State softball team used two come-from-behind performances to outscore Albany State 15-8 on the day and walk away with a doubleheader sweep (7-5, 8-3) in non-conference action against Albany State on Tuesday at Steel's Diamond in Valdosta, Ga.
The Golden Rams jumped in front of the Blazers 2-0 in the top of the first inning of game one, when Toni Coleman clubbed a two-run double into the left center field gap against GSC Pitcher of the Week
Kathryn Carter.
The Blazers answered with one run in the bottom half of the frame, thanks to a clutch RBI single off the bat of
Taylor Hartenbach, but ASU added two more in the third and another in the fourth to open up a 5-1 lead.
Facing the four run deficit, the Valdosta State offense flipped an offensive switch in the bottom of the fifth inning. With the help of two Golden Ram errors, the Blazers used two key hits and a sacrifice fly to plate four runs and tie the contest up at 5-5.
The decisive moment came in the following inning when
Jessica Mohl reached on a single and instigated a critical throwing error by ASU catcher Brianna Murillo. Valdosta State's speedy leadoff hitter stole both second and third base, and scored the game's winning run when her aggressive steal at third drew an errant throw and allowed the junior to cross and give VSU a 6-5 advantage. A Hartenbach triple scored
Hayley Cruthers later in the inning, and Carter used the cushion to pick up the win and improve to 15-2 on the year.
Game two got off to a similar start when Coleman struck again for a three-run blast to left field in the top of the first. Following the homer, however,
Tara McIntyre made a tremendous catch against the wall in right field, which ignited a string of 13 consecutive outs for Blazer starter
Avery Lamb. During that stretch, VSU scored one or more runs in each of the first four innings.
The third was the highlight for Valdosta State, as the Blazers tallied four runs on four hits and an ASU error. Freshman
Amber Kling struck for one of her two hits to plate the first run of the inning, while
Lacey Crandall followed two batters later with an RBI single of her own. Albany State's aforementioned error came with two runners on base, both of which scored to give Valdosta State their final advantage of 8-3.
Lamb racked up ten strikeouts in the game, including a stretch in the second and third innings, during which she struck out six consecutive batters. The win bumped Lamb up to 13-4 on the season.
Valdosta State lifted their overall record to 33-13 after the big South Regional win, while Albany State dropped to 23-20 on the year.
The Blazers continue their final stretch of Gulf South Conference games on Saturday, with a road series in Cleveland, Miss. against the Delta State Lady Statesmen. First pitch of the upcoming Saturday doubleheader will take place at 2:00 p.m. EST, and live coverage will be provided via links available right here at www.vstateblazers.
