VALDOSTA, Ga. – The defending Gulf South Conference champion Valdosta State softball team opens the 2019 season this weekend at the Gulf Shores Invitational in Gulf Shores, Ala.  VSU is scheduled to play four games over a two-day period to begin the season.
 
VSU will open the season with Nova Southeastern Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a game against Spring Hill College at 5:30 p.m., followed by facing North Georgia on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET and finishing the tournament with Miles College at 3 p.m. ET.  Links to live stats for each game are available at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page.
 
The Blazers are coming off a 42-13 record in 2018 and a 23-9 mark in the Gulf South Conference.  VSU is under the direction of head coach Thomas Macera, as he enters his 14^th season at VSU, and is 607-168-2 (.782) in Titletown.  Macera guided VSU to its 17^th NCAA postseason appearance in 2018 and 13^th-straight trip as the Blazers are 55-36 all-time. 
 
Macera welcomes back six players from last season, including junior Lacey Crandall who played all 53 games in 2018, hitting .270 with 38 hits, 20 runs scored, four doubles, four home runs, and 21 RBI.  Junior Logan Hill also played in all 53 games hitting .260 with 38 hits, 23 runs scored, five doubles, seven home runs, and 29 RBI.  Position players junior Haley Garrett and sophomore Kiley Robb also return.  On the mound, senior Kasie Johnson returns after she went 13-7 last season in 30 appearances with 24 starts.  Johnson had a 2.46 ERA to lead the team while recording 12 complete games, four shutouts and registered two saves.  She pitched a team-high 136.2 innings, allowing 129 hits, 61 runs – 48 earned, walked 37 and fanned a team-high 77 as teams hit just .246 against her.  Also returning is junior Kathryn Carter, who went 17-4 last season in 33 games with 20 starts.  She had seven complete games with two shutouts in 130.1 innings of work.  Carter allowed 154 hits, 76 runs – 53 earned, walked 21 and fanned 46. 
 
VSU has 14 new faces heading into the 2019 season as the Blazers were picked second in the Gulf South Conference poll, announced last week.  VSU garnered 132 points and three of 13 first place votes.  Alabama Huntsville was tabbed the league favorite with 138 points and seven first place nods, while Mississippi College was picked third with 117 points and two first place votes.  West Florida, who was picked fourth, had the remaining first place vote and 109 points.
 
Johnson was the lone Blazer named to the Preseason All-Conference Team, while sophomore pitcher Caylie Van Auken and junior pitcher Giovanna Watts were named to the Top Newcomers for 2019.  Van Auken comes to VSU from Division I South Carolina-Upstate where she went 4-4 in 21 appearances with four starts last season.  She pitched 45.1 innings, allowing 44 hits, 29 runs – 24 earned, walked eight and fanned 34.  Watts comes to VSU from Florida Southwestern State.  Watts went 24-3, appearing in 33 games with 26 starts and 17 complete games.  She pitched 136.1 innings, allowing 88 hits, 38 runs – 25 earned, walked 30 and fanned 103 with a 1.28 ERA.  She earned NJCAA Third Team All-America honors last season.  Finally, left-handed fireballer Avery Lamb makes a return as a junior this season.  Lamb established herself as a powerhouse in the circle during her freshman season and has since picked up 19 wins against just seven losses with 100 strikeouts in 175.1 innings of work. In 2018, she pitched around a nagging injury en route to a 3.31 ERA and served as a primary reliever with six wins and six saves.
 
VSU sits 22^ndin the Preseason National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25.  The Blazers face No. 3 North Georgia this weekend in Gulf Shores, Ala.  Along with VSU, Alabama Huntsville is No. 11 in the poll as the only two GSC teams ranked.  
 
Nova Southeastern enters the 2019 season after a 21-29 record in 2018.  The Sharks were picked seventh in the preseason Sunshine State Conference poll and welcome 11 new faces this season.  Among the nine returnees, starting pitcher Lexie Storrer posted a 2.33 ERA in 2018, along with 102 strikeouts and also is the returning leader in RBIs.
 
NSU will have two games under its belt before facing the Blazers as the Sharks face Montevallo and Shorter on Friday, followed by VSU and will face Union, Alabama Huntsville, and West Alabama in the tournament.  The Sharks are under the direction of fourth year head coach Julie LeMaire.
 
Following the game against the Sharks, VSU will face Spring Hill College, who went 23-14 last season and 18-1 in the SIAC.  The Badgers are under the direction of second year head coach Steve Kittrell.  Kittrell used to be the head baseball coach at South Alabama where he went 1052-644-1 (.620) in 25 seasons for the Jaguars.  He won 10 Sun Belt Conference championships for South Alabama. 
 
On Sunday, VSU will face No. 3 North Georgia as the Nighthawks were picked unanimously No. 1 in the Peach Belt Conference preseason poll for the fourth-straight year.  UNG won its fifth-straight PBC regular season title in 2018, the eighth in the last 10 years and the fifth consecutive PBC Tournament title.  The Nighthawks won the Southeast Regional and earned a berth in the NCAA Division II College World Series for the fifth time since 2009.  Junior pitcher Kylee Smith, who earned Division II National Player of the Year by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and National Pitcher of the Year by D2CCA, returns along with four all-conference players.  Head coach Mike Davenport begins his 21^st year at North Georgia and 19^th at the helm of the Nighthawks.  
 
VSU will conclude the tournament facing Miles College, who went 12-36 last season and 11-8 in the SIAC.  Miles went 1-2 in the SIAC Tournament last season and is under the direction of Patrick Peasant. 
 
Following the tournament, VSU continues its month-long road swing at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, Feb. 8-10, in Clearwater, Fla.  VSU opens GSC play at Lee on Feb. 16-17, and won't open the 2019 home slate until Mar. 2-3 when it hosts Union at Steel's Diamond.
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for complete recaps and scores all season long on the softball page.