VALDOSTA, Ga.- Valdosta State softball senior Aniston Gano was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA D2 Player of the Week as well as Gulf South Conference Player of the Week, announced by both the NFCA and GSC offices Tuesday afternoon.
 
This marks Gano's first Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week award of the season and her first weekly conference accolade of the year. Meanwhile, this national honor is the second for a Blazer this year as junior Abby Sulte received the award earlier this season while it marks the sixth time this season a Blazer has been awarded a player of the week award from the conference office.
 
Gano had an excellent weekend at Steel's Diamond, helping lead Valdosta State to a three-game series sweep of Christian Brothers. The Lakeland, Ga. native led the Blazers at the plate, batting a team-best .636 on seven hits in 11 plate appearances. Overall, Gano tallied four runs and eight RBI on the weekend while cracking two home runs over the stretch. She also got on base at a .636 rate while slugging a team-high 1.182. In the series opener on Saturday, she went a perfect three of three at the plate, racking up three singles for one run and three RBI. Then in the second game of the afternoon, she scored five of the Blazers' eight RBI on a multi-homer performance including a two-run homer and a three-run home run.
 
For the season, Gano is batting .311 with 29 runs on 46 hits in 148 plate appearances. She's racked up three doubles, one triple and 18 home runs for a team-best 60 RBI. Her 18 home runs rank sixth in the nation for third in the GSC while her 60 RBI rank 11^th in the nation and third in the conference. Meanwhile, she is slugging .709 and has tallied 105 total bases.
 
Gano and the Blazers (28-19, 18-9 GSC) are set to close out the 2024 regular season when they head to West Georgia to take on the Wolves in a three-game conference series. The series kicks off with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. For more information on Valdosta State softball, visit vstateblazers.com and head to the softball schedule page.