VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 16 Valdosta State softball team split a Gulf South Conference doubleheader with Auburn Montgomery Saturday afternoon.  AUM won the opener 5-4 in eight innings, while VSU responded with a 6-0 start in the nightcap en route to a 7-2 win. 
 
The Blazers (23-10, 8-8 GSC) hit .235 for the doubleheader, while holding AUM to a .200 clip.  VSU was 12 of 51 from the dish with one home run and 10 RBI, while reaching base at a .400 clip with 12 walks and two hit batsmen.  Junior Logan Hill wend 3 for 5 for the day with a grand slam and six RBI.  Junior Lacey Crandall was 3 for 6 with a RBI.  VSU didn't walk a batter in either game as sophomore Caylie Van Auken went seven innings in the nightcap, allowing five hits, two runs – one earned and fanned 13. 
 
In the opener, VSU took the lead in the second inning as junior Natalia Bellinger began the inning with a walk and stole second, while a sacrifice bunt moved her to third.  Crandall singled home Bellinger for a 1-0 lead.  VSU left two on in each of the first two innings. 
 
AUM (30-9, 10-7 GSC) tied the game in the fourth with a RBI single to left from Michaelyn Fo and the Warhawks plated a run in the fifth and two in the sixth for a 4-1 lead. 
 
The never-say-die Blazers stormed back in the bottom of the seventh as Fo blew the save opportunity for the Warhawks.  A leadoff single from junior Taylor Strickland began the frame, followed by a pair of outs.  Junior Haley Garrett started the two out rally with a single and Bellinger found a gap with a single to left, plating a run.  Hill singled up the middle, scoring two runs to tie the game and Crandall then singled down the right field line and Hill was gunned down at the plate on which would have been the winning run in regulation. 
 
In the eighth, an infield single for the Warhawks and a sacrifice bunt put AUM in business.  A wild pitch moved Olivia Aycoc to third and a fielding error plating the eventual winning run.  VSU went down in order in the bottom of the eighth as Fo earned the win (12-3) despite blowing the save. 
 
In the nightcap, VSU responded quickly as it plated six runs in the first inning, highlighted by Hill's grand slam for a 6-0 lead.  AUM scored its first run in the fourth on a RBI double from Caroline Burns for a 6-1 score, but VSU answered in the bottom of the inning as Strickland stole home for a 7-1 lead.  The Warhawks added a run in the sixth as Fo singled to right, but Van Auken prevented further damage with her 11^th strikeout to that point. 
 
For the game Hill was 1 for 2 with a run scored and four RBI, while Burns was 2 for 3 with a RBI for the Warhawks.  Jade Ingram (4-1) took the loss for the Warhawks, going 0.1 innings, allowing three hits, six earned runs, walked two and fanned one.
 
VSU and AUM conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m. at Steel's Diamond.