PENSACOLA, Fla. – Following the disappointing 2-1 loss in the opening game of the 2019 Gulf South Conference Championship, the No. 4-seed Valdosta State softball team responded with a 7-3 victory over No. 8-seed Delta State Friday afternoon. 
 
The Blazers (34-15) now will face the loser of the West Georgia vs. Union game, which is going on right now as of this writing, at 10 a.m. ET Saturday morning.  To reach Championship Sunday, VSU will need to win two games Saturday.  
 
Spencer Van Horn will have the call of the games as links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more can be found at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page.  Note, Saturday's games will not be on 107.5 FM as the previous games were.  There will be an audio link to the games tomorrow on the softball schedule page at vstateblazers.com. 
 
Junior Taylor Strickland paced the Blazers, going 3 for 4, including a double and stole home in the game, with one run scored and four RBI.  Sophomore Fallyn Johnson went 2 for 4 with two runs scored.  Sophomore Caylie Van Auken (15-5) went the distance in the circle as she allowed four hits, three runs – one earned, walked none and fanned three as she now has pitched in 12 innings in the first two games for the Blazers. 

Delta State (22-25) ends its season as the Lady Statesmen tallied three runs – all on home runs on four hits and committed two errors leading to two unearned runs.  No DSU player had more than one hit, but Taylor Picou was 1 for 3 with a run scored and two RBI on a two run blast in the bottom of the seventh.  Nichole Fulilove (12-16) took the loss in 4.2 innings, allowing six hits, six runs – four earned, walked two and fanned two.
 
The Lady Statesmen began the game with a solo home run from Kelly Byrd in the bottom of the first inning as she blasted a ball to dead left field for a 1-0 lead.  DSU had the early momentum as VSU lined out three-straight times in the top of the second and VSU had its first base runner in the third, but was unable to score.
 
In the top of the fourth, F. Johnson began the game with a single down the left field line and junior Logan Hill reached on a fielding error on a great sacrifice bunt, plating Johnson for a 1-1 score.  Strickland laid down another great bunt, plating Hill for a 2-1 VSU lead.  Junior Lacey Crandall had the third-straight bunt putting runners at second and third with one out on the sacrifice.  Sophomore Ashley Biddle singled home a run and Strickland stole home for a 4-1 score. 
 
The Blazers added two more runs in the fifth as junior Haley Garrett began the inning with a single to left and Johnson singled to center.  A sacrifice bunt from Hill moved the runners into position and Strickland singled home two runs with the second miscue by the Lady Statesmen and a 6-1 lead.  VSU then pushed the lead to 7-1 in the top of the seventh on the RBI double from Strickland. 
 
In the bottom of the seventh, DSU wouldn't go away quietly, however, as Van Auken retired the first two batters, but a strikeout swinging on a passed ball put a runner at first as Picou had her blast to left field for a 7-3 score.  Van Auken then got a fly out to left field to end the game.