VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 12 Valdosta State softball team opens the 2021 season Friday at the Flagler Invitational in Saint Augustine, Fla.  VSU will play four games in the tournament with two on Friday and two on Saturday.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the games at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page.  VSU and Flagler kick off the tournament at 10 a.m. Friday.  VSU then will battle Ursuline (Ohio) at 12:30 p.m.  On Saturday, the Blazers will face Georgia Southwestern at 1:30 p.m. and Ursuline again at 4 p.m. to conclude the tournament.
 
Exactly 331 days ago from this coming Friday, Valdosta State and Flagler met in softball in a doubleheader at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park, just days before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  VSU swept the doubleheader, 5-2 and 8-0.  In the nightcap, VSU sophomore hurler Samantha Richards tossed a perfect game in the run-rule victory. She fanned nine in the game, marking the third no-hitter or perfect game of the 2020 season for the Blazers.  It was the first perfect game for VSU since former Blazer Kasie Johnson tossed a clean game on Mar. 21, 2018, versus Miles College. 
 
VSU finished the 2020 season with an 18-5 record and a 7-2 mark in the Gulf South Conference.  The Blazers were 15^th nationally in the final NFCA Top 25 for 2020.  Flagler went 18-8 in the shortened season and 2-0 in Peach Belt Conference play. 
 
The Blazers were picked second in the 2021 Gulf South Conference Coaches Poll released last week.  Alabama Huntsville was tabbed league favorite with 134 points and six first-place votes, while VSU was second with 127 points and three first-place nods.  Auburn Montgomery was selected third with 119 points and two first-place votes, while West Florida was fourth with 118 points and the remaining two first-place selections.  Mississippi College rounded out the top five with 96 points.  Montevallo was picked sixth (90), followed by West Georgia (82), Union (73), West Alabama (54) and Lee was tenth with 41 points.  Delta State was picked 11^th with 39 points, followed by Christian Brothers (24) and Shorter was 13^th with 17 points. 
 
Three Blazer standouts were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team in senior infielder Logan Hill, sophomore infielder Kiley Robb and Richards.
 
Hill was on an absolute tear offensively last season, as she led the nation in home runs with 11.  She hit .406 for the season with team-highs in hits (26), runs scored (23) and RBI (25).  Hill slugged a blistering .984 clip to lead the team, while drawing a team-high 16 walks for a .531 on base average.  Hill was named a finalist for the prestigious GSC Commissioner's Trophy and a GSC Top Ten honoree.  She earned Second Team Academic All-America honors as selected by CoSIDA®. 
 
Along with Hill, the potent VSU offense also saw a strong start from Robb, who was second on the team in batting average at a .353 clip.  Robb scored 22 runs while recording 24 hits, four doubles and seven home runs.  She drove in 19 and slugged .721.  Robb drew 11 walks and reached base at a .438 clip.  She finished second on the team in home runs to Hill and 19^th nationally, while finishing eighth in the league in slugging percentage.
 
Richards had a strong start to the season in the circle, going 5-2 with a team-best 1.14 ERA in 49.1 innings of work.  She appeared in 13 games with eight starts while recording two complete games and one shutout.  She led the team with two saves.  Richards allowed 27 hits, 13 runs – eight earned, walked 12 and fanned 63 as teams hit just .162 against her for the season.
 
Prior to the conference preseason poll being announced, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 was unveiled as VSU is 12^th in the preseason poll, while UAH was selected 20^th. 
 
Flagler was picked fourth in the Peach Belt Conference preseason poll.  Head coach Kathryn Geouge returns a handful of starters including NaJah Gerrald, Kyleigh Taylor, Morgan Murphy, Alyssa Velez and Paige Maseda. 
 
In 26 games, Gerrald led the Saints with a .385 batting average, 30 hits, 19 runs and five stolen bases, while catcher Taylor was having a breakout sophomore campaign with seven home runs and a .312 batting average. Alongside Murphy, who tallied a team-high 17 RBI behind a .306 batting average, opting to return for their senior season was pitcher Kyra Gipson.  The righty tossed 90.1 innings and amassed a 11-4 record, with a 1.32 ERA and .96 WHIP, while striking out 68.
 
VSU is 10-4 against Flagler since Feb. 4, 2014.  VSU has won three-straight in the series and four of five.  VSU is 4-2 against Flagler in Saint Augustine, but split a doubleheader there Feb. 28, 2019. 
 
Ursuline College is located in Pepper Pike, Ohio, and a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.  The Arrows went 2-6 in the COVID-19-shortened season.  In 2019, the team was 18-30 overall and 13-13 in league play.  This marks the first meetings between VSU and Ursuline on the diamond.
 
Georgia Southwestern went 17-5 last season and won its last ten games of the season before COVID-19 cancelled the rest of the season.  The 'Canes went 29-26 in 2019.  VSU leads the all-time series 28-0 against GSW and won all four meetings in 2019, two in Valdosta and two in Americus, Ga.  VSU is scheduled to host GSW in a doubleheader on Mar. 20, 2021.
 
Following the tournament, VSU will travel to Miles College for a doubleheader on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14) at 2 p.m. ET.  The Blazers then open Gulf South Conference play Feb. 20-21 at Shorter, before returning home to open the 2021 home slate versus Mississippi College Feb. 27-28 at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.