CARROLLTON, Ga. - In a game highlighted by a 12-run fourth inning, the Valdosta State offense fired on all cylinders offensively to rack up 14 total runs in a 14-3 mercy rule victory over West Georgia on Saturday at University Field in Carrollton, Ga.
The Blazers went hitless in the first three innings of the contest, while West Georgia scored three runs to open up a 3-0 lead. Valdosta State flipped the script in the top of the fourth, however, and pieced together one of the biggest half innings in Valdosta State softball history.
"We've been waiting on that the whole year, and it all seemed to come together in one inning today," said Head Coach
Thomas Macera after the series-winning triumph. "The girls made some great adjustments leading up that moment, and we finally caught on to what they were trying to do, which led to a good outcome."
Valdosta State sent 17 batters to the plate in the fourth and racked up 10 hits. Every batter in the lineup reached base safely at least once in the half inning, and Lacey Crandall, Heather Robinson, Jessica Mohl, and Brandy Morgan all homered for the Blazers during the frame to fuel the run production.
The surge gave VSU a 12-3 lead, and after Mohl doubled to center one inning later, Brandy Morgan cranked her third homer of the weekend to put the Blazers on top 14-3. The five home runs in the game marked the most for VSU in a single game since Jaime Phillips, Fran Johnson, and Jennifer Phillips teamed up to slug five long balls in the second game of a doubleheader on March 25, 2015 against Lander in Greenwood, S.C.
Robinson's fourth inning bomb placed her in a tie with VSU Hall of Famer Alyssa Shirey for sixth place on Valdosta State's all-time home run list. Furthermore, Morgan's multi-homer game moved her to within seven shy of Marti Littlefield, who currently ranks second on VSU's all-time home run list with 56 career round trippers.
Kasie Johnson, who came on in relief for the Blazers early in the contest, picked up the win to improve to 10-4 on the year, while West Georgia's Zoie LaVergne suffered the loss to fall to 1-1.
"We've known that we are capable of this kind of performance all along, we just haven't been able to show it this year," added Macera. "We've looked good in practice, and it finally flowed over into a game for us. Now, we're just hoping that this game will give us some confidence during the rest of the regular season and on into the postseason. We're hoping this game will be the start of something big for us."
The Blazers will return to action at home next weekend with another GSC series against the visiting Hawks of Shorter. The three-game tilt will begin with a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m.
