VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 22-ranked Valdosta State softball team travels to Clearwater, Fla., for the 2019 NFCA Leadoff Classic this weekend.  
 
The Blazers will open the tournament with No. 18 Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday at 2:30 p.m., followed by a 4:30 p.m. game against No. 2 Southern Arkansas.  On Saturday, VSU will face No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne at 12 p.m., followed by a 4:30 p.m. game against Azusa Pacific (Calif.).  VSU then will conclude the tournament with Tampa on Sunday at 11 a.m. Check back with vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page for links to live stats, as well as recaps following each game.
 
VSU is coming off a 4-0 record in the Gulf Shores Invitational last weekend in Gulf Shores, Ala. The Blazers opened the season with a 3-2 win over Nova Southeastern, followed by a 5-1 win over Spring Hill College.  VSU then used another 3-2 win, this time a thrilling, walk-off victory over No. 3 North Georgia and closed the tournament with a 14-0 win over Miles College.  Sophomore Kiley Robb had the walk-off home run against North Georgia for the win in the bottom of the seventh.  
 
Senior Kasie Johnson was named Gulf South Conference Pitcher of the Week, while junior Dream Aaron was named GSC Player of the Week.  Johnson went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA as she allowed eight hits, walked none and fanned 13 with one shutout.  The opposition hit just .211 against her in 10.1 innings of work.  Aaron hit .429 on 3 of 7 with three runs scored, one double, two home runs and five RBI.  She drew seven free passes and struck out just once as she slugged 1.429 and reached base at a .714 clip.  
 
For the season, the Blazers are hitting .273 on 27 of 99 from the dish.  VSU has scored 25 runs with five doubles, two triples, five home runs and has driven in 23.  The team is slugging .515, while reaching base at a .415 clip with 23 walks and just eight strikeouts.  VSU is 3 of 5 in stolen bases and has a .980 fielding percentage with two miscues leading to one unearned run.  
 
Along with Aaron, junior Taylor Strickland leads the team with four hits as she has scored four runs with two triples and one RBI.  Junior Natalia Bellinger is 3 for 3 with four runs scored, a double and two RBI.  
 
On the mound, VSU has a 1.08 ERA in 26 innings of work.  The Blazers have allowed 24 hits, five runs – four earned, walked none and fanned 27 as teams are hitting .240 against them.   Along with Johnson, sophomore Caylie Van Auken is 2-0 with a 0.93 ERA and one save. She has pitched 15 innings, allowing 15 hits, three runs – two earned, walked none and fanned 13.  Junior Giovanna Watts also has pitched this season for the Blazers. 
 
Palm Beach Atlantic is 1-2 on the year after losses to No. 6 Angelo State and Florida Tech in Melbourne, Fla., last weekend.  PBA won 11-5 over Barry.  The Sailfish were picked second in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll and return four all-conference players from last season, including Co-Player of the Year in Magnolia West.  PBA head coach Bailey Castro was named SSC Coach of the Year in 2018 as the team went 36-8, losing in the South Region #1 final, 5-1 to Alabama Huntsville.  
 
VSU and PBA had the series in Valdosta cancelled last season, but PBA ended the Blazers' season in the NCAA South Regional, 1-0 on May 11.  A bases loaded walk in the bottom of the first inning was the only scoring in the game.  VSU had a 6-3 lead in hits, but the Blazers stranded nine.  
 
No. 2 Southern Arkansas enters the NFCA Leadoff Classic with a 3-0 record after posting three shutouts over Southwest Baptist, Rogers State and Missouri S&T in Arkadelphia, Ark., last weekend.  Lady Mulerider Victoria Taylor was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II National Pitcher of the Week as she tossed the fourth perfect game in program history in the season-opener.  She then threw a one-hitter against Rogers State and finished the week with 25 strikeouts as teams hit just .024 against her.  She also was named National Pitcher of the Week by Fastpitch News.   
 
The Lady Muleriders finished third nationally last season at the Division II College World Series finishing the 2018 season with a 60-11 record.  The Lady Muleriders were picked first in the Great American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. 
 
Lenoir-Rhyne is 2-0 on the year after a pair of wins over Chowan.  The Bears went 45-10 last season, losing in the Southeast Regional final to Young Harris.  LR was picked as the league favorite in the South Atlantic Conference this season as five were named to the Preseason All-SAC team.  
 
Azusa Pacific is 0-2 and had three games cancelled due to weather at the Desert Stinger in Las Vegas, Nev., last weekend.  The Cougars lost to San Francisco State (10-5) and dropped a 3-2 decision to No. 7 Chico State.  APU was picked third in the Preseason All-PacWest Team as three players were named to the preseason all-league team.  APU finished 22-25 last season and 15-17 in the PacWest.  
 
Tampa is 2-0 entering the tournament after a pair of shutout wins over Ursuline last week.  The Spartans went 28-16 last season and 19-11 in the Sunshine State Conference.  Tampa was picked third in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.  The Spartans return two players who hit over .300, along with a pitching staff that boasted a 1.8 ERA, 257 strikeouts and 315.1 innings pitched.  
 
VSU downed Tampa twice last season in St. Petersburg, Fla.  VSU won the opener 6-2 in nine innings and then posted an 11-3 run-rule victory. The Blazers used two home runs for four runs in the top of the ninth of the opener for the win, while scoring nine runs over the fourth and fifth innings combined for the 11-3 victory in the second game.  
 
Following the tournament, VSU returns home to prepare for the beginning of conference play next weekend (Feb. 16-17) at Lee.  The 2019 home-opening series is scheduled for Mar. 2-3 against Union.