VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a 4-0 sweep at the Gulf Shores Invitational last weekend, the No. 7 Valdosta State University softball team is set to travel to Daytona Beach, Fla., for the Embry-Riddle Invitational on Feb. 11 and 12.  The Blazers will take on Embry-Riddle and the University of Tampa in a pair of double headers on Friday and Saturday. 
 
Fans can access links to live streaming of the ERAU games and live stats of all four games at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page.  Check back with vstateblazers.com following each day for complete stats and recaps.  
 
The Blazers open the invitational with ERAU on Friday at 11 a.m., followed by Tampa at 4 p.m. On Saturday, VSU will again take on Tampa at 3 p.m., followed by ERAU at 5:30 p.m. to round out the weekend. 
 
VSU has a perfect 4-0 record so far this season, picking up wins against No. 4 West Texas A&M on Feb. 5, 7-3, and Spring Hill College, 11-0 (5 innings), Drury University on Feb. 6, 7-0, and finally No. 5 North Georgia, 3-1. 
 
Embry-Riddle enters the weekend with a 1-0 record, getting a 4-1 win over Georgia Southwestern on Feb. 4 in the Flagler Invitational. Friday's contest with VSU will be the first meeting with the Blazers since Feb 8, 2020, where the Blazers came up with a 7-5 win at the Old Coast Classic. This season also marks the first season for the Eagles after a two-year hiatus from competition.
 
The Spartans have a 2-2 record, splitting series against Lander University and Ursuline College this past weekend. Tampa defeated Lander 1-0, in the first game of the doubleheader, then the Bearcats responded winning 3-2 in the nightcap. Ursuline defeated the Spartans 6-2 in the first game of a twin bill Sunday, and then Tampa posted a 6-0 victory in the finale. The Spartans are riding a three-game win streak against VSU, picking up a 2-1 win on Feb. 10, 2019, a 1-0 (9 innings) win on May 5, 2019, in the NCAA South Regional and another 1-0 win on Feb. 7, 2020. 
 
Junior pitcher Samantha Richards, and this week's Gulf South Conference Pitcher of the Week, pitched 12 innings in victories over Spring Hill College last Saturday and No. 5 North Georgia on Sunday.  She recorded 18 strikeouts, four walks, and held her opponents to only four hits and one run, including her third no-hitter in VSU's 11-0 win over SHC.  The two wins for Richards gave her a 34-10 career record as a pitcher for the Blazers. 
 
Senior infielder Nikki Pennington also earned league weekly honors as GSC Player of the Week following the first week of competition. Pennington, a native of Palm Bay, Fla., had the highest batting average for the Blazers this weekend, batting at a .667 clip in 12 plate appearances.  She scored eight runs, tallied eight hits, belted two home runs, walked twice, and drove in five. 
 
The Blazers outscored their opponents 28-4 during the Gulf Shores invitational, recording 30 hits, ten extra-base hits, 23 RBI and went a blistering 11 of 12 on the base paths. After this weekend's matchups, the Blazers will open the 2022 home slate with No. 23 Alabama Huntsville on Feb. 19 and 20 for the first GSC series this season.  VSU was picked second in the preseason coaches poll, while UAH was picked third.
 
For all information on Blazer softball, visit vstateblazers.com or follow Valdosta State Athletics on social media.