VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a 2-1 series victory over Union this past weekend, the No. 5 Valdosta State softball team continues its ten-game homestand with four non-conference games this week.  The Blazers will battle Albany State in a doubleheader Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park and then will entertain Georgia Southwestern for a twin bill Saturday at 1 p.m. 
 
Fans can access links to live stats, streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page.  There will be audio streaming of the games on the webstream with play-by-play coverage from Bill Malone. 
 
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there will be limited capacity at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park this season.  A hard capacity of 180 (one hundred eighty) fans will be admitted to each home game.  Seating includes 90 marked seats available in the grandstand and 90 marked seats in the lawn outside the outfield fence.  Fans are encouraged to come to Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park early to ensure admittance.  Gates will open one (1) hour before each game, adult general admission tickets are $5 and youth/senior tickets are $3.  Fans are encouraged to bring a lawn chair for seating outside the outfield fence.  No umbrellas or lawn chairs will be allowed in the grandstands.  No further entry will be allowed once capacity is reached.  No pets are allowed, including emotional support animals, except service animals with proper documentation.  Spectators should enter through the front gate of the ballpark.  Masks must be worn at all times while at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park. 
 
VSU had two outstanding, run-rule, victories against Union, but struggled in the middle game, falling 5-3 in eight innings in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader.  Against the Bulldogs, VSU hit .329 on 23 of 70 from the dish.  The Blazers scored 24 runs with 23 hits, three doubles, one triple, five home runs and 24 RBI.  VSU slugged .614 and reached base at a .484 clip with 19 walks and three hit batsmen.  The Blazers stuck out just nine times and were 8 of 9 in stolen bases.    
 
Sophomore Kiley Robb hit .400 with four hits in ten at bats and belted three home runs, including two grand slams for 10 RBI and four runs scored.  She slugged 1.300 for the week and earned Gulf South Conference Player of the Week honors.  Freshman Aniston Gano was named GSC Freshman of the Week for the second time in three weeks as she went a team-best 5 of 7 from the plate with three runs scored, a triple and a home run, while driving in two.   
 
The Blazers lead the GSC with a 10-2 record and are 12-3 overall.  VSU is hitting .339 for the season on 127 of 375, while it has scored 111 runs with 16 doubles, one triple, 23 home runs and driven in 109.  The team is slugging .571 and reaching base at a .457 clip with 74 walks and nine hit batsmen.  VSU has run wild on the base paths, going 39 of 41 in stolen bases while it has 11 errors on the year for a .970 fielding percentage.
 
Gano leads the team in average at a .444 clip on 16 of 36.  She has scored eight runs with two doubles, one triple, three home runs and 13 RBI.  Gano is 2 for 2 in stolen bases this season and has an .806 slugging percentage, while reaching base at a .583 clip with 11 walks for third on the team.  Junior Nicole Pennington is second in average at .425 as she has 17 hits with a team-high 21 runs scored with three doubles, five home runs and 21 RBI.  Pennington is slugging .875 for the season with an on base average of .589 on 13 walks and three hit batsmen.  Freshman Morgan Hill is hitting .400 for the season with 20 hits, 19 runs scored, two doubles, five home runs and 12 RBI.  She is a team-best 10 for 10 in stolen bases this season.  Robb is hitting .381 and leads the team with six home runs and also has driven in 21.  Pennington has reached safely in all 15 games this season, while senior Logan Hill has reached base in 14 straight-games. 
 
In the circle, VSU has been dominant with a 1.10 ERA in 85 innings of work, along with four shutouts and one save.  The team has 91 strikeouts to just 14 walks for the season, allowing 51 hits, 21 runs – 14 earned and teams are hitting just .167 against it.  Sophomore Samantha Richards has an 8-2 record in 11 appearances with ten starts.  She has eight complete games with three shutouts and one save for a 0.73 ERA.  Richards has worked 57.2 innings, allowing 32 hits, nine runs – six earned, walked seven and fanned a team-high 63.  Teams are hitting just .162 against her.  M. Hill is 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA in 25.1 innings of work.  She has started five games with three complete games and one shutout.  She has allowed 15 hits, nine runs – five earned, walked six and fanned 23 as teams are hitting .172 against her. 
 
Albany State enters with an 0-4 record and dropped a wild 16-10 decision to Benedict its last time out.  ASU had two games scheduled for this past Sunday at Georgia Southwestern postponed.  Prior to the ten runs scored by the Golden Rams against Benedict, ASU had been outscored 45-0 in its first three games.  The Golden Rams are hitting .313 for the season with 30 hits, five doubles and two home runs, while walking 11 times and fanning 17.  Sydney Pettus leads the team with a .667 average on 6 of 9 from the dish with two runs scored, two doubles one home run and two RBI.  Destiny Herrera is second in average at a .500 clip with five hits, three runs scored, one home run and three RBI.
 
The Golden Rams have used three pitchers thus far with Kierra Washington getting the most work with 14.2 innings, allowing 30 hit, 29 runs – 25 earned, walked 13 and fanned six.  She is 0-2 with an 11.93 ERA.  Pettus also pitches and is 0-1 with a 12.25 ERA in eight innings.  Ciweya Tennison also has seen action this season.
 
VSU leads the all-time series with Albany State 60-0 with two wins in Valdosta last season on Feb. 27.  VSU won 11-5 and 5-0 in the two games as former Blazer Shayne O'Connell pitched a no-hitter in the nightcap.  VSU is 29-0 all-time at home against the Golden Rams and 30-0 on the road with a 1-0 mark in neutral games.  The Blazers have outscored the Golden Rams 564-74 in the 60 meetings. 
 
Georgia Southwestern enters with an 8-3 record this season after the postponed games against ASU on Sunday.  The Hurricanes have split their last four games in doubleheaders with Point University and Emmanuel (Ga.).  VSU downed GSW 7-1 in Saint Augustine, Fla., on Feb. 6 in the Flagler Invitational.  In that game, VSU scored seven runs in the top of the seventh inning, breaking a scoreless tie for the 7-1 victory as GSW scratched across a run in the bottom of the inning.  Four different Blazers had two hits in the game as senior Lacey Crandall had a home run and three RBI to lead the team.  Richards pitched all seven innings, allowing two hits, one earned run on a sacrifice fly, walked two and fanned eight.
 
GSW is hitting .332 f or the season with 94 hits, 91 runs scored, 19 doubles, 18 home runs and 81 RBI.  The team is slugging .590 and reaching base at a .428 clip with 40 walks and 11 hit batsmen.  Lauren Kuerzi leads the team with a .452 average with 14 hits, seven runs scored, one double and four home runs.  Zoe Willis also has 14 hits on the season and a .412 average with two doubles and three home runs.
 
Willis is 3-0 with a 2.29 ERA in four appearances.  She has one complete game in 18.1 innings, allowing 12 hits, seven runs – six earned, walked three and fanned 23 as teams are hitting .192 against her.  Shannon Gibson has pitched a team-high 25 innings with a 3.36 ERA among the four pitches for the 'Canes.
 
VSU leads the all-time series with GSW 34-1, including the victory earlier this season.  GSW's only win came on Feb. 28, 2002, in a 2-1 loss in Americus, Ga.  VSU is 22-0 at home against the 'Canes (11-1 road) and now 1-0 in neutral site games.   
 
Following the four non-conference games this week, VSU returns to conference play with a huge series against rival West Florida Mar. 27-28 at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park to complete the ten-game homestand.