VALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State junior Nicole Pennington was named Gulf South Conference Player of the Week honors for the third time this season and freshman Taylor Macera was named GSC Freshman of the Week for the first time, the league office announced Tuesday.
 
Pennington had another outstanding week for the No. 2 Blazers, helping lead the team to a sweep at Christian Brothers and extend the winning streak to 21 games.  Pennington hit three home runs Sunday in the 15-2 victory, marking the second time this season a Blazer has hit three home runs in a game.  It tied the GSC record for home runs by a player in a game.  
 
The Palm Bay, Fla., native, finished the week 5 of 12 from the dish (.417), scored six runs with five hits, one double, three dingers and seven RBI.  She slugged 1.250 with 15 total bases and walked twice.  Pennington leads the nation in home runs with 21, which is tied for seventh all-time in GSC history for home runs in a season.  
 
Pennington is having a career year for the red and black as she also leads the nation in home runs per game at a 0.60 clip.  She is fifth nationally in RBI (52), fourth in runs scored per game (1.43), third in slugging percentage (1.093), third in total bases (117) and 13^th in on base percentage (.570).  She leads the GSC in batting average at a .458 clip. 
 
Macera, a native of Valdosta, Ga., had an outstanding weekend for VSU at Christian Brothers as she hit .637 on 7 of 11 from the dish, scored five runs, two doubles and hit her first collegiate home run, while driving in six.  She slugged 1.091 for the weekend, totaling 12 bases.  Macera led the team in hits for the weekend as VSU improved to 32-3 on the year and a league-best 25-2 in GSC play.  Macera hit her home run in the sixth inning of game two putting VSU up 4-2 to that point as it won 9-2 Saturday evening in the second game of the doubleheader.
 
For the season, Macera has played in 28 games with 22 starts, mostly as the designated player.  She has 19 hits in 62 at bats for a .306 batting average, while she has scored 19 runs, four doubles, one home run and driven in ten. Macera is slugging .419 for the season with four walks, a .348 on base average and 2 for 2 on the base paths.  
 
The Blazers close out the regular season this weekend in a key GSC series at No. 13 Alabama Huntsville.  The series begins with a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, followed by a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.  
 
VSU has a three-game lead in the GSC standings heading into the final regular season weekend.  The Blazers need one victory to clinch the overall top-seed in the upcoming GSC Championship, May 6-9 in Oxford, Ala., at Choccolocco Park.  
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for more information on the series later this week.