DENVER, Colo. – It's a national top ten matchup to kick off the 2021 NCAA Division II Softball National Championship round Thursday at 1 p.m. ET between No. 9 Valdosta State and top-ranked and defending national champion Augustana. 
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule and for the NCAA Division II Softball Championship Central click on the link to the right.  The Blazer games will be broadcast on Talk 92.1 WDDQ FM with Matt Malone having the call and online at talk921.com. 
 
The Blazers (38-9) earned a share of the Gulf South Conference regular season title this season, going 25-5 in league play and is making its fifth trip to the NCAA National Championship round and first since 2014.  VSU went 2-2 in the Gulf South Conference Championship, falling 5-2 to eventual league champion No. 3 Auburn Montgomery, but hosted and won the regional, winning two thrillers on Saturday over West Florida to claim the title. 
 
The Vikings are 47-6 overall and went 28-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), winning the regular season title and losing in the conference tournament championship.  Augie went 3-0 in the NCAA Central Regional, outscoring Southern Arkansas and Minnesota State (a pair of ranked teams) 12-3 so far in the NCAA postseason.
 
Thursday's matchup definitely has a championship feel to it as a total of seven student-athletes combined from the two teams were announced Tuesday as NFCA All-America selections.  Augustana had four selections, while VSU had three for the most of any two teams in the country.  Blazer junior shortstop Nicole Pennington earned NFCA First Team All-America accolades, while senior Kiley Robb (2B) and freshman Morgan Hill (UTL/P), each earned NFCA Third Team All-America.  Pennington is one of 15 Finalists for the 2021 Schutt Sports/NFCA Player of the Year which will be announced June 3.
 
For Augustana, Kendall Cornick (OF) earned first team honors, while Ashley Mickschl (P/INF) earned second team honors.  Mary Pardo (OF) and Torri Chute (C/INF) earned third team accolades. Like Pennington, Cornick also is a Top 15 Finalist for NFCA Player of the Year.
 
Wednesday, the D2CCA All-America Teams were announced and both VSU and Augie were well represented.  Pennington earned first team honors, while senior Kiley Robb and sophomore Samantha Richards were second team selections and freshman Morgan Hill earned honorable mention honors.  Cornick earned first team honors for Augie, while Pardo was a second team selection as was Chute.  Mickschl earned third team honors.
 
The Blazers and the Vikings have previously met four times – all in the NCAA postseason and both teams are 2-2.  The teams played three times in 1993 regional with VSU winning one time (1-2), and then VSU won 5-4 in 2012 in Louisville, Ky., in the national championship round en route to the Blazers' title. 
 
Augustana is in its 27^th NCAA postseason in 2021, and tenth-straight.  The Vikings are the defending NCAA Division II National Champion, defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville in the best-of-three final round in 2019.  The Vikings are 70-51 all-time in the NCAA postseason.
 
VSU is 60-39 all-time in the NCAA postseason and is making its fifth championship round appearance in 2021.  The Blazers won the title in 2012 and were runner-up in 2010 and 2014. The 60 wins are tied for second with North Georgia for the most of the eight teams in the field as Augie leads the way with 70.  The Blazers' 15-straight appearances in the postseason are the most of any of the eight teams in current consecutive appearances.
 
VSU head coach Thomas Macera is in his 16^th season at the helm of the Blazers.  He needs just one victory for his 700^th win at VSU.  Macera is 699-200-2 at VSU, while he is 905-274-2 all-time.  Macera earned his fourth GSC Coach of the Year honor this season.  Macera won his 900^th career game in the opening game of the 2021 GSC Championship earlier this month.
 
In an absolute instant classic regional final, the Blazers needed to defeat West Florida twice on Saturday in front of a raucous crowd on both sides, the Blazers responded in the sixth inning with a huge at bat from Pennington as she laced a triple to right center, plating two runs for a 3-2 VSU lead and then senior Logan Hill a sacrifice fly for the 4-2 victory.  Sophomore hurler Samantha Richards was outstanding throughout the regional as she closed the door on the Argos for the victory and forcing the final game.
 

In the "if necessary" game, VSU used Pennington's national-leading 24^th home run in the first inning and a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  After UW tied it on a two-run blast in the second, Blazer freshman Taylor Macera hit a three-run home run in the third for a 5-2 lead and senior Lacey Crandall belted her 11^th of the season for a 6-2 advantage.  UWF pulled within 6-4 in the bottom of the inning, but that'd be as close as the Argos would get.  Richards came in relief of senior starter senior Avery Lamb and, once again, held the Argos in check, allowing just three hits and fanned two over the final 4.2 innings for the victory.
 
The winner of Thursday's game plays the winner of the 4/5 matchup between North Georgia and Biola (Calif.) Friday at 1 p.m. ET, while the loser plays the loser of the 4/5 matchup Friday at 6 p.m. ET in an elimination game.
 
Game Notes