PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Valdosta State softball team bounced back from a tough 4-3 loss to the West Florida Argonauts on Friday to take down the Mississippi College Choctaws, 8-0, later in the day and advance to the final series of the NCAA Division II South 1 Regional Tournament in Pensacola, Fla.
Game one starter Katherine Carter escaped a litany of jams throughout the first half of the day's opening contest against host West Florida, as the Argonauts placed runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings but failed to score a run.
The levee finally cracked in the fifth, when the Argonauts used a leadoff single by Megan Toney to spark a four run fifth inning, during which UWF strung together five base hits and put an end to Carter's day. The four runs were enough to topple the Blazers, thanks in part to a game-saving play by Rachel Wright, who robbed
Chelsea Canara of a bases loaded, extra base hit with a spectacular catch on a 215-foot fly ball to left center field in the bottom of the sixth.
Valdosta State left the tying run on base in the final inning to suffer the one-run loss, but after a lengthy rain delay, the Blazers flipped a switch in the nightcap.
Facing elimination in the final game against MC, the Blazers scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning on a
Hayley Cruthers two-run homer, and Carter took over from there. The freshman hurler used the two early runs in the first inning, along with three more in the second, to pick up momentum and hold the Lady Choctaws scoreless for the second straight day.
Carter also struck out three and walked just one in the game to improve to 19-4 on the season, and the contest was brought to its conclusion in the sixth inning after Valdosta State scored three runs in the sixth to end MC's season with an 8-0 mercy-rule victory.
With the win, the Blazers improved to 39-18 on the season, while Mississippi College closed out with a 35-20 record.
Valdosta State will compete against the No. 1 seeded Argonauts on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. EST, and will need to win twice to advance to the NCAA Division II Super Regional Tournament. If Valdosta State wins both games, they will earn the right to host the Super Regional Tournament next weekend in Valdosta, Ga.
