VALDOSTA, Ga. – Another impressive offensive effort went for naught for Valdosta State softball on Sunday, as the Blazers fell 9-8 to Mississippi College in Gulf South Conference action at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.
 
The Blazers opened up a three-run advantage right out of the gate with three consecutive hits by Tara McIntyre, Hayley Cruthers, and Chelsea Canara, followed by a Lady Choctaw error and a sacrifice fly by Taylor Hartenbach. The three-run spot put Valdosta State in front 3-0, but one-half inning later, MC matched the effort with four hits and one Blazer error to tie the contest up at 3-3.
 
In the bottom of the third, the Blazer offense struck again when Tana McDaniel blasted a three run homer over the left field wall to give VSU a three run, 7-4, advantage for the second time of the day.
 
The Choctaws fired back again, however, in the top of the fifth inning with another three-run surge of their own, which forced starter Avery Lamb to turn the game over to fellow freshman, Kathryn Carter.
 
With the contest knotted up at 7-7, Brandy Morgan gave Valdosta State the lead yet again with one of her two hits of the game, a solo shot to left center field. The homer marked Morgan's ninth of the season and put the Blazers in front by one, but the Choctaws negated the lead in the top of the sixth, when Kristen Qualls delivered a two-run game-winning homer.
 
The Blazers nearly tied the game in the bottom of the sixth after Jessica Mohl ripped a one-out hit, stole second, and moved to third on a deep fly ball to right by McIntyre. Tylan Buckley ended the threat, however, after handling a sharp grounder at first off the bat of Cruthers, which stranded Mohl at third.
 
With the loss, Valdosta State fell to 28-10 on the season and 14-6 in conference play, while the Lady Choctaws improved to 23-13 overall and lifted their GSC record to 14-7.
 
The Blazers will hit the road next weekend for a big series against Alabama-Huntsville, which will open up on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. EST in Huntsville, Ala. Look for coverage right here at www.vstateblazers.com.