TaylorHartenbach_LS_UM
3
Delta State DSU 26-24
6
Winner Valdosta State VSU 40-11
Delta State DSU
26-24
3
Final
6
Valdosta State VSU
40-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Delta State DSU 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 3 7 2
Valdosta State VSU 1 0 2 1 1 1 X 6 9 0

W: Johnson, Kasie (13-5) L: Taylor Johnson (10-12)

Game Recap: Softball |

Long Ball Leads Blazers to First Round Postseason Win

FLORENCE, Ala. - The Blazers homered four times for five runs in a 6-3 victory over Delta State in the opening round of the Gulf South Conference Softball Championship Tournament on Thursday in Florence, Ala.

No. 2 seeded Valdosta State (40-11) took an early lead over the No. 7 seeded Lady Statesmen when Taylor Hartenbach demolished her 11th home run of the season over the right field wall to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Two innings later, Abi Gibson hit a sharp grounder to third and beat out a double play by half of a step to set the stage for Jordan Jones, who clubbed a two-out double into the left center field gap to score Gibson and tie the game at 1-1.

Hartenbach saw to it that the gridlock didn't last long, however. In the bottom of the third, the left-handed hitting slugger blasted her second home run in as many at-bats over the center field wall. The round tripper complemented a bunt single by Jessica Mohl one batter earlier, and Hartenbach's two-run shot put the Blazers on top 3-1.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the top of the fourth, as Colben Patin stayed with a change-up from Kasie Johnson and lofted it over the left field wall for a two-out, two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3.

Kasie Johnson settled in from that moment on, however, and blanked the Lady Statesmen throughout the next three frames. Meanwhile, Lacey Crandall put VSU back on top with a solo shot to left in the fourth and added an insurance run with a clutch two-out single in the fifth. One inning later, Mohl launched a tape-measure blast over the right field wall to finish off the Okra.

The win marked Valdosta State's 40th of the season and lifted the Blazers to 40-11 overall. Meanwhile, Delta State fell to 26-24 on the year. Kasie Johnson picked up the win to improve to 13-5 on the year, while DSU starter Taylor Johnson took the loss and fell to 10-12.

Delta State moved into the loser's bracket to face West Florida at 11:00 a.m. EST on Friday, while the Blazers will square off against Alabama-Huntsville at 6:30 p.m. EST later that same day.

Blazer Nation can look for coverage of Friday's game at www.vstateblazers.com, and full tournament info can be found at www.gscsports.org.
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