VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 3 Valdosta State softball team is set to take on Shorter March 19 and 20 for a weekend Gulf South Conference series at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park. 

Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the games against Shorter at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page. Check back with the site for complete recaps and stats of each game throughout the season.

The series will begin with a single game on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., then will conclude on Sunday with a doubleheader slated to also begin at 1 p.m.

The Blazers (16-4, 8-0 GSC) haven't played since March 6 against Montevallo. Sophomore Katie Proctor hit a thrilling, seventh-inning grand slam to give the Blazers the series sweep and take game three 6-5. Prior to that game, the Blazers won 9-2 in the opener and game two, 3-1. VSU then had its series at Union postponed due to snow and a non-conference doubleheader at Eckerd College moved to April 20. 

VSU (16-4, 8-0 GSC) is currently riding a 10-game win-streak against the Hawks (4-19, 1-10 GSC) dating back to the 2017 season. The Blazers last defeated the Hawks 9-1 in game three of a road GSC series on Feb. 21, 2021. The last time Shorter downed VSU was on March 11, 2017, 6-5. 

Shorter is currently riding a 10-game skid this season, and is coming off a pair of losses against West Georgia on March 13. The Wolves took game one of the doubleheader, 8-0 and game two 8-6. 

Payton Tuder leads the Hawks in RBI with 11 on the year while Colbi Ballard has a team-high .467 batting average through 15 at bats and Kaylee Combs has a team-high 17 hits along with Taylor Phillips. 

Alana Lloyd (0-5) has spent the most time in the circle for the Hawks and has recorded 26 strikeouts and has given up 69 hits, 38 earned runs, and eight walks through 43 innings pitched. The Shorter pitching staff has combined for 65 strikeouts and has given up 244 hits, 165 earned runs and 68 walks through 644 at bats for a 8.04 earned run average. 

For the Blazers, sophomore Aniston Gano has a team-high 23 hits through 53 at bats along with 14 runs, four home runs, 19 RBI and a .434 batting average, while senior Nikki Pennington has four home runs, 16 hits, 15 runs, 13 RBI, and a .296 batting average through 54 at-bats. Proctor has a .400 batting average along with four home runs, 16 hits, six runs and 18 RBI through 40 at-bats. The Blazers have outscored their opponents 131-56. 
 
In the circle, head coach Thomas Macera has utilized his entire pitching staff throughout the season. Junior Samantha Richards (12-1) has recorded 106 strikeouts and has held her opponents to 26 runs, 59 hits, 17 earned runs and 20 walks for a 1.50 ERA through 79.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Mia DeAngelis (3-2) has fanned 25 batters and has given up 15 earned runs, 10 walks and has a 2.89 ERA through 36.1 innings. Sophomore Morgan Hill has 12 strikeouts on the year and has given up 11 earned runs, 19 hits, nine walks and has a 4.81 ERA through 16 innings pitched.  

Following the weekend series, the Blazers will travel to Clinton, Miss., on March 26-27 for a road series with the Lady Choctaws and will host Christian Brothers on April 2-3.