OXFORD, Ala.- The Valdosta State softball team bowed out of the 2024 Gulf South Conference Tournament with a 5-1 loss to No. 1-seed Mississippi College in an elimination game Friday evening. VSU sits at 31-23 while Mississippi College improved to 45-6 on the year.
 
The Blazers got off to a great start in the top of the first, picking up where they left off in the first game of the day. Senior Morgan Hill kicked off the inning with a lead-off double before junior Abby Sulte and senior Aniston Gano took back-to-back walks to load the bases. Sophomore Saylor McNearney continued her hot tournament streak at the plate with a hard hit ball back to the pitcher to score Hill from third and put the Blazers up 1-0. Unfortunately, the Blazers were unable to pick up anymore runs following a pair of quick outs to end the inning.
 
Graduate Student Nadia Zenteno and the Valdosta State defense was "lockdown" for the first and second innings, getting out of jams with double plays in both frames. The Choctaws ended up answering back with an electric inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the third to even the game up at 1-1.
 
The Blazers and Choctaws became locked in a defensive stalemate following the third inning as both teams went back and forth unable to jump ahead. The offensive silence of the matchup was broken by Mississippi College who managed to pick up four runs on a string of three hits in the bottom of the sixth to go up 5-1 heading into the top of the seventh.
 
VSU did not give up in the seventh and final inning of the game, getting two runners on behind back-to-back walks before a groundout ended the contest as the Blazers' run in the GSC tournament came to an end, 5-1.
 
Zenteno (6-10) went the distance for the Blazers, going six innings while allowing five runs on six hits. She struck out two batters and walked two. Despite picking up the loss, Zenteno put together a solid outing for VSU, allowing just one run on an inside-the-park homer in the third prior to the sixth inning. Meanwhile, MC's Brookelyn Cannon allowed one run on five hits. In seven innings, she walked four batters and struck out two.
 
The Valdosta State offense picked up just five hits in the contest including the game-opening double from Hill. The Blazers stranded eight base runners in the contest, five of which were left on base following the first inning. VSU was led at the plate by Hill who went one for two with a double for one run in perhaps her final game as a Blazer to earn Guardian Bank Player of the Game.