VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a blistering series against West Alabama, where the team hit a season-high 13 home runs in a three-game sweep of the Tigers this past weekend, the #3 Valdosta State softball team heads to Albany State for a non-conference game Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the game at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page.  Check back with the site for a complete recap and stats Tuesday evening.
 
The Blazers, who have won 14-straight games dating back to Mar. 14, have been on a tear as they are hitting a blistering .384 during the winning streak with a staggering 42 home runs and scored 130 runs on 140 hits.  VSU has seven players everyday players hitting over .300 during the winning streak.  Nine different Blazers have hit home runs during the last 14 games.  As a team, the Blazers are slugging .789 with 16 doubles and three triples to go along with the 42 round-trippers.  VSU is reaching base at a .470 clip with 59 walks and four hit batters.  The pitching staff has a 1.71 ERA in 90 innings, allowing 74 hits, 38 runs – 22 earned, walked ten and fanned 102 as teams are hitting .220 against it.
 
Junior Nicole Pennington is hitting .558 during the streak with 24 hits, 23 runs scored, two doubles, 11 home runs and 23 RBI.  She is slugging 1.372 and reaching base at a .648 clip with ten walks and been plunked once.  Pennington has reached safely in all 28 games this season and 30-straight games dating back to 2020.  She also has a current team-best 11 game hitting streak.  Earlier this season she had a 12-game hitting streak for the most on the team.  In the circle, sophomore Samantha Richards is 9-0 with a 1.40 ERA in 55 innings.  She has fanned 71 and walk just five during the streak.
 
VSU and Albany State played a doubleheader in Valdosta during the winning streak as the Blazers won both games on Mar. 17.  VSU won the opener 15-0 in five innings and then won 9-2 in the nightcap.  The Blazers hit .373 for the doubleheader, outscoring ASU 24-2 with 19 hits, four doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 22 RBI.  VSU set a school-record in the opener of the series with six home runs by six different Blazers.  VSU held the Golden Rams to a .122 average with five hits, two runs scored, one home run and two RBI.  Richards pitched in both games, fanning 18 and walking one in seven innings.  She tied her season-high with ten strikeouts in the opener against the Golden Rams.
 
The Blazers lead the all-time series with ASU 62-0 and are 30-0 in Albany against the Golden Rams.  VSU won a doubleheader in Albany in 2019, winning 8-1 and 12-6 in eight innings.  The Blazers have outscored ASU 588-76 for the series.
 
The Golden Rams enter with a 4-10 record overall and have not played since April 1 with a 13-8 victory over Edward Waters.  Ciweya Tennison leads the team with a .444 average in 11 games.  She is 12 of 27 from the dish with one triple, seven runs scored and 10 RBI.  Sydney Pettus is second in average at a .417 clip with 15 hits, 15 runs scored, two triples, five home runs and 18 RBI.  The team is hitting .326 for the season with 116 hits, 87 runs scored, 16 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 77 RBI. 
 
Albany State has used three pitchers this season as Tennison is 2-1 with a 10.00 ERA in 14 innings, while Pettus has pitched a team-high 42.2 innings with 18 strikeouts and 30 walks.  Kierra Washington has seen action in 23.1 innings.  The staff has pitched 80 innings, allowing 158 hits, 157 runs – 129 earned, walked 88 and fanned 30 as teams are hitting .400 against it. 
 
For the season, the Blazers lead the nation in home runs with 63, while they are first nationally in home runs per game at a staggering 2.25 average per contest.  VSU is seventh nationally in batting average at a .358 clip to lead the conference, while it is eighth nationally in ERA (1.41), second in on base average (.460), fifth in scoring (8.14 runs/game), 17^th in shutouts (7), second in slugging percentage (.675), second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.13), fourth in total runs (228) and fifth in sacrifice bunts (29).  The team is 29^th in stolen bases (53), third in WHIP (0.83) and sixth in walks with 129. 
 
Individually, Pennington leads the nation in home runs (16) and in home runs per game at a 0.57 clip, while teammate sophomore Kiley Robb is fourth in home runs (12) and seventh in home runs per game (0.43). Pennington is third nationally in total bases (92) to lead the league, while Robb is 22^nd with 76.  Pennington is fifth in RBIs (43) and seventh in RBI per game (1.5).  Robb is 13^th in RBI's with 38, while she is 15^th in RBI per game at 1.36.  Robb is 20^th in slugging percentage for second in the league (.894).  L. Hill is eighth nationally in walks per game at 0.86, while Pennington is 13^th at 0.82.  M. Hill is 14^th in home runs with 10 for third in the GSC.  Pennington lead the GSC in batting average at a .494 clip, while she seventh in on base percentage (.617) and second in slugging percentage (1.136).  M. Hill is 27^th in runs per game at 1.21 for second in the league. 
 
In the circle, Richards is third nationally in complete games (14), 27^th in ERA (1.03), 11^th in appearances (21), third in victories (16), 11^th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.73), eighth in total strikeouts (129), tenth in WHIP (0.75) and 23^rd in walks allowed per seven innings (0.71).  M. Hill is 46^th nationally and third in the GSC in ERA at a 1.39 clip, while she is third in the GSC in strikeout-to-walk ratio at a 6.14 clip.  Hill is third in the GSC in WHIP (0.97) and second in walks allowed per seven innings (1.08). 
 
Following Wednesday's game, VSU returns home to host West Georgia in the final regular season home series, Saturday and Sunday at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park for Senior Weekend.  Prior to Saturday's first game at 2 p.m., VSU will honor the senior class for 2021 at approximately 1:40 p.m.  Following the doubleheader Saturday, Sunday's single game is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.