VALDOSTA, Ga.- The No. 11 Valdosta State softball team defeated Barry in a single game on Tuesday evening after freshman Jasmin Stewart popped off a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving VSU a 5-4 victory for its 15th win of the season.
On Tuesday afternoon, VSU learned that it was number 11 in the most recent NFCA Division II Coaches Poll, moving up two spots from number 13. Rogers State remains number one followed by North Georgia, Tampa, UT Tyler and Cal State San Marcos rounding out the top five. Central Oklahoma is number six and Grand Valley State is number seven followed by Indianapolis, conference rival Alabama Huntsville at nine and Lubbock Christian to cap off the top 10 as the Blazers sit just outside at number 11.
The game started off fairly slow for both teams with no runs being scored until the bottom of the third. In that inning, the Blazers managed to load the bases on a double from junior Morgan Hill to right center followed by three Blazer walks to advance one home and put VSU up 1-0.
The game remained at 1-0 into the bottom of the fifth inning when the Blazers kicked off the inning with a lead-off walk to set up a towering home run from sophomore Abby Sulte, giving Valdosta State a 3-0 edge. However, the Buccaneers struck back with a grand slam in the top of the sixth for a 4-3 Blazer deficit.
Down one, the Blazers answered back as Sulte smashed her second homer of the day to knot the game up at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth. The game remained deadlocked at 4-4 through the seventh, sending the contest to extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Stewart stepped up to the plate both literally and figuratively, cracking a solo walk-off shot behind a 1-1 count to give the Blazers the 5-4 victory.
Senior Samantha Richards was in the circle for the Blazers in what was her 12th win of the season and 11th complete game of the year. In her performance, she fanned seven, walked one and allowed four runs on nine hits. At the plate for the Blazers, Stewart recorded one crucial hit in the form of a walk-off home run for one RBI to earn Guardian Bank Player of the Game honors.
The Blazers are set to return to action at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park on Thursday, Mar. 9 at 4 p.m. in a doubleheader against No. 3 Tampa. For more information on stats, audio/video streaming, tickets and more visit vstateblazer.com.
