VALDOSTA, Ga. – Fresh off a come-from-behind victory Sunday over No. 2 West Florida, the No. 9-ranked Valdosta State softball team hosts Eckerd College Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Steel's Diamond in a doubleheader.  The Blazers then travel to Albany State for a doubleheader Wednesday and then are at Alabama Huntsville this weekend.  
 
The Blazers (17-7) enter after snapping a season-long four-game losing skid as junior Jordenne Gaten and sophomore Kiley Robb belted home runs in a four-run fifth inning as VSU battled back from a 3-0 deficit, handing the Argos their first conference loss of the season Sunday.  Gaten began the rally with a solo home run and Robb belted a three-run home run with two away in the frame as VSU won the finale, 4-3.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats, video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page for the doubleheader Tuesday.  Check back with the site for a complete recap and stats of the games Tuesday evening.  
 
Eckerd is 11-17 overall and 3-9 in the Sunshine State Conference.  The Tritons were swept by Palm Beach Atlantic last weekend, losing 4-1, 4-2 (8 innings) and 9-4.  EC has won just two of its last eight games heading into Tuesday.  
 
This will be Eckerd's fourth true road game of the season as they are 0-3 with three losses at Embry-Riddle earlier in the year.  For the Tritons, Nikole Van Gennep leads the team with a .325 average in 25 starts. She is 25 of 77 from the dish with a team-high 16 runs scored, one double, a team-high seven home runs and 20 RBI. She is slugging .610 and reaching base at a .392 clip with eight walks.  Van Gennep is the only Triton hitting over .300 for the season.  Hannah Famiano is second in hits with 21, while Kaylin Kramer also has 16 runs scored for the season.  
 
As a team, Eckerd is hitting .242 with 157 hits in 649 at bats, while scoring 88 runs with 17 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 79 RBI.  The team is slugging .341 and reaching base at a .315 clip with 53 walks. EC has 24 errors on the year for a .968 fielding percentage, leading to 12 unearned runs.  
 
On the mound, Van Gennep is 6-10 with a 3.17 ERA in 19 appearances with 17 starts.  She has pitched 110.1 innings, allowing 96 hits, 57 runs – 50 earned, walked 32 and fanned 67 as teams are hitting .230 against her.  She has 12 complete games for the Tritons and three shutouts.  As a staff, the Tritons have a 3.93 ERA in 196 innings, allowing 220 hits, 125 runs – 110 earned, walked 58 and fanned 91 as teams are hitting .280 against it.  
 
Heading into the week, VSU is hitting .264 with 161 hits in 611 at bats, scoring 121 runs with 32 doubles, two triples, 27 home runs and 103 RBI.  The Blazers are slugging .455 and reaching base at a .357 clip with 88 walks. VSU is 32 of 36 on the base paths and has a .966 fielding percentage with 22 errors leading to 11 unearned runs. Junior Haley Garrett leads the team in average at a .355 clip in 24 starts. She is 22 of 62 with 16 runs scored, three doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI.  Garrett is slugging .597 and reaching base at a .412 clip.  Gaten is second in average at a .306 mark with a team-high 26 hits in 85 at bats, while scoring a team-high 22 runs with six doubles, and six home runs, tying the team-lead with Robb.  Gaten has 16 RBI for second on the team.  She is slugging .588 and reaching base at a .359 average, while going a perfect 15 of 15 in stolen bases. 
 
On the mound, the Blazers have a 1.94 ERA in 159 innings, allowing 138 hits, 55 runs – 44 earned, walked 20 and fanned 178 as teams are hitting .226 against them.  Junior Caylie Van Auken leads the team in innings pitched at 63 as she is 6-3 with. 1.44 ERA In 11 appearances with nine starts.  Van Auken has seven complete games with two shutouts, one save and has allowed 53 hits.  She has given up 15 runs – 13 earned, walked five and fanned 68. Johnson is 8-3 with a 1.91 ERA in 13 appearances with 11 starts.  She has three complete games, two shutouts, one save and has pitched 58.2 innings. Johnson has allowed 55 hits, 20 runs – 16 earned, walked nine and fanned a team-high 78 as teams are hitting .238 against her. 
 
Following Tuesday's games, VSU heads to Albany State for a doubleheader Wednesday.  The Golden Rams are 10-21 on the year and 7-2 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  After Wednesday's games, VSU travels to Alabama Huntsville for a weekend series with the Chargers.  Including yesterday, VSU will play eight games in seven days culminating with the final game of the UAH series this coming Sunday.