DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.- The Valdosta State softball team emerged victorious in the final day of the Embry-Riddle Tournament, defeating Eckerd 10-2 in five innings before downing Embry-Riddle in a thrilling seventh inning comeback, 7-4.

Valdosta State now sits at 5-5 while Eckerd dropped to 4-5 and Embry-Riddle fell to 4-4.

GAME #1: Valdosta State 10, Eckerd 2 (5 Innings)
The Blazers kicked off the final day of the Embry-Riddle Tournament in spectacular fashion as sophomore Saylor McNearney and junior Abby Sulte each took walks to open the first inning. VSU managed to capitalize off the pair of walks with senior Katie Proctor slicing a single to left field, scoring McNearney and giving Valdosta State an early 1-0 lead.

The Tritons responded swiftly, scoring a run off of a double hit to deep left field in the bottom of the first, 1-1. VSU snapped the 1-1 score quickly, tacking on two runs in the top of the second as McNearney slapped a double to left before Sulte singled to give the Blazers a two-run cushion, 3-1.
Valdosta State went on a massive rally in the top of the third to cement its lead further with junior Brandie Seber cracking a lead-off single to begin the frame. Senior Aniston Gano then stepped up and blasted a double to score Seber and put VSU up 4-1. Later in the inning, sophomore Jasmin Steward racked up an RBI single to score another for the Blazers, 5-1, before senior Morgan Hill capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly, giving Valdosta State a five-run edge, 6-1.

VSU added on in the top of the fourth as McNearney singled to right before Sulte launched a moon-shot to give the Blazers a seven-run lead, 8-1. The home run party continued into the top of the fifth when Hill kicked off the frame with a missile to left just before Sulte launched her second homer of the afternoon, putting VSU up 10-1 by the end of the frame. Eckerd fought to try and get back in the contest, scoring a run in the bottom of the fifth due to a VSU error but came up short. Valdosta State ended up getting the two-game sweep over Eckerd after the Blazers took down the Tritons in five innings, 10-2.

Freshman Toree Wofford (1-0) got the start in the circle for the Blazers, going all five innings for her first complete game of the season. She tallied one strikeout while only allowing two runs on nine hits and two walks. The Blazers recorded a staggering 14 hits in the game with Sulte going three for three at the dish while tallying two home runs for four RBI and three runs to earn Guardian Bank Player of the Game honors.

GAME #2: Valdosta State 7, Embry-Riddle 4
Embry-Riddle kicked off the final game of the tournament by capitalizing on Blazer miscues. The Eagles racked up two runs in the bottom of the first on three VSU errors and two hits to jump out early, 2-0.

Later in the game, ERAU scored another run on a triple and a single to go up by three in the bottom of the third before cashing another run in on a VSU fielding error in the bottom of the fourth, 4-0.

Valdosta State remained resilient, putting together an incredible seventh inning to get right back in the matchup. The frame kicked off with Gano reaching first on a fielding error before sophomore Lexi Patterson singled to right, putting two Blazers in scoring position. Senior Mackenzie Kilpatrick broke the scoreless stretch from VSU, crushing a single up the middle to cut the Eagles lead to 4-1.

Base hits from Wofford and Hill brought in another run while also loading the bases for the Blazers, 4-2. McNearney scored a sacrifice fly to make the game a one score affair before Proctor delivered heavily for VSU, launching a no-doubter three-run homer to give the Blazers the lead, 6-4. An RBI base knock from Stewart added another run by the end of the frame, 7-4.

Junior Madison Lumpp and the Valdosta State defense were able to hang on in the bottom of the seventh as VSU split the two-game series with Embry-Riddle, 7-4. Graduate student Nadia Zenteno (2-3) got the start at pitcher, going 2.1 inning, allowing six hits for three runs with one walk while striking out one. However, Lumpp went 4.2 innings, allowing just one hit for one run, fanning one and walking one.

The Blazers tallied 12 hits in the matchup with seven hits coming in the seventh inning alone. VSU was led at the dish by Proctor whose late game three-run home run earned her Guardian Bank Player of the Game honors.

The Valdosta State softball team will look to open the 2024 home stretch in a doubleheader against West Florida in Valdosta on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. For more information on Blazer softball, visit vstateblazers.com.