DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- The Valdosta State softball team split a pair of back-to-back games on Saturday afternoon in the Embry-Riddle Tournament. The Blazers fell to Tampa in five innings, 14-0, before bouncing back for a win over Eckerd in the nightcap, 6-2.
 
Valdosta State now sits at 3-5 overall in the early goings of the 2024 season while Tampa improved to 6-2 and Eckerd fell to 4-5.
 
GAME #1: #10 Tampa 14, Valdosta State 0 (5 Innings)
 
In the first game of the afternoon, the Spartan offense got after it early, tacking on four runs in the top of the first on one hit and three Blazer errors. From there, Tampa continued to pile it on in the top of the third, tallying three hits for three more runs to go up 7-0.
 
Tampa went on to score seven more runs in the contest, racking up two runs in the fourth and five in the fifth. After five innings, Valdosta State dropped to Tampa 14-0 due to the run rule being put in place.
 
Overall, VSU recorded four total hits with five errors while Tampa tallied nine knocks for the game. The Blazers had three pitchers in the circle during the game as graduate student Nadia Zenteno (1-3) was credited with loss. The Blazers were led at the dish by junior Carly Bogart, who recorded two hits in her two plate appearances to earn Guardian Bank Player of Game honors.
 
GAME #2: Valdosta State 6, Eckerd 2
 
In the nightcap, Eckerd got out to a 1-0 lead early in the top of the first following a pair of singles and a stolen base. However, the Blazers hopped to it in the bottom of the frame as senior Morgan Hill took a lead-off walk to open the bottom of the first. Junior Brandie Seber then tallied the first hit of the game on a single that sent Hill to third. Senior Katie Proctor earned an RBI on a sacrifice fly that scored Hill to even the matchup at 1-1 before sophomore Saylor McNerney and Senior Aniston Gano recorded singles to give the Blazers the lead by the end of the first, 3-1.
 
VSU added on to its lead in the bottom of the third as Proctor kicked off the inning with a walk. McNearney then sliced a double to left center. However, pinch runner sophomore Evie Pitts was tagged out at home as Gano reached first on a fielder's choice. This made no difference to the Blazers who were destined to score as McNearney made it home on a Triton miscue, 4-1.
 
Eckerd tallied another run on a string of base hits in the top of the fourth, cutting the lead to two, 4-2, before the game went quiet offensively for an inning and a half. That silence was swiftly broken by Valdosta State in the bottom of the sixth as junior Sierrah Snook singled to open the frame. Hill then cracked a single to center as Snook raced around the base paths to score another run for VSU, 5-2. The Blazers added on another on an EC throwing error to go up 6-2 at the end of the sixth.
 
The Blazers held on in the top of the seventh to secure their third victory of the season to a final score of 6-2. Junior Madison Lumpp (1-0) saw the most action in the circle for VSU, going six innings, allowing eight hits and two runs with only one walk. Freshman Toree Wofford earned her first save after fanning two in the seventh with runners in scoring position. The Blazers were led at the plate by McNearney who had one of her best games offensively in a VSU uniform. She racked up three hits on three at-bats, tallying two runs and a double to earn Guardian Bank Player of the Game honors.
 
The Valdosta State softball team will close out its tenure in the Embry-Riddle Tournament tomorrow when it takes on Eckerd at 1 p.m. before facing Embry-Riddle at 3 p.m. For more information on VSU softball, visit vstateblazers.com.