VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State softball team will close the 2025 regular season Friday and Saturday with rival West Florida at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park.  The three-game series is set for a single game Friday at 5 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.  Fans are encouraged to wear pink for Friday evening's game.  
 
The Pink Game Friday will benefit former Blazer softball standout, who is a VSU Athletic Hall of Fame honoree as well as a Gulf South Conference Hall of Fame selection, Marti Littlefield, currently is batting breast cancer and will be recognized at the game, along with former Blazer and breast cancer survivor Amy Brightwell Redding.  Brightwell Redding will be throwing out the first pitch of the game and, while Littlefield cannot be in attendance Friday, Littlefield's mother will be present.  
 
In addition, there have been some items donated to raffle during Friday's game and Saturday's doubleheader, along with "Fight Like Five" shirts which will be sold and all money raised will go to Littlefield for her medical expenses. 
 
Senior Day festivities will begin at approximately 12:40 p.m. as the team will honor four outstanding seniors.  The 2025 senior class includes; Aniston Gano, Madison Lumpp, Claire Maulding and Brandie Seber.  VSU Athletics would like to wish each of these seniors the best in their future endeavors.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming of the games at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page.  The games will be broadcast on FloCollege with Wade Beale having the call of the games.
 
Blazer freshman Krisley Arnold was named Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time as she hit a team-best .375 on 3 of 8 from the dish with two runs scored, two home runs and four RBI.  She slugged 1.125 with two walks for a .500 on base clip, while registering five putouts and two assists in seven chances with no errors in a three game series at Christian Brothers.  
 
The Blazers dropped a disappointing series at Christian Brothers last weekend as CBU won the first game 2-0, while VSU won 14-10 in the nightcap of a Friday doubleheader where the Blazers set the school and GSC record with eight home runs in the game.  CBU then won 6-4 in the finale on Saturday.  VSU struggled offensively hitting .263 or the series, with 21 hits, 18 runs scored, two doubles, one triple, 11 home runs and 18 RBI.  CBU hit .260 with 19 hits, 18 runs scored, five doubles and four home runs with 18 RBI.  Lumpp earned the lone win in relief going five innings, allowing eight hits, six earned runs, walked one and fanned four in the 14-10 win.  Maulding pitched 13 innings, allowing seven hits, eight runs – seven earned, walked eight and fanned 14 as CBU hit just .159 against her.  The hard part was in her two starts, VSU didn't have the run support scoring four runs in those two games combined.  
 
The Blazers have won just two of their last ten games dating back the Auburn Montgomery series where VSU won the first game 1-0, but dropped the final two games of the series.  In the last ten games, VSU is hitting just .215 with 53 hits, 33 runs scored, three doubles, one triple, 13 home runs and 29 RBI.  Conversely, the opposition is hitting .261 with 67 hits, 52 runs scored, ten doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 48 RBI.  Prior to the second game against AUM, VSU won 17 of 20 and hit .298, while holding the opposition to a .246 clip.  
 
This season, the Blazers are seventh nationally in home runs with 62 to lead the GSC, while the team is second in the GSC and 11^th nationally in hit by pitches (42).  The Blazers are second in the league in slugging percentage at a .478 clip for 43^rd nationally, while the team is second in the league and 40^th nationally in walks (156).  VSU is 21^st nationally and third in the GSC in sacrifice bunts (43) and second in the league in sacrifice flies (16) for 42^nd nationally.  
 
As a team, the Blazers are hitting .281 from the plate with 227 runs scored, 336 hits, 40 doubles, five triples, 62 home runs and 213 RBI.  The Blazers are slugging .478 and reaching base at a .378 clip with 156 walks and been hit by pitches 42 times.  VSU is 44 of 51 in stolen baes this season.  
 
Gano is seventh nationally in home runs (16) to lead the league as she is second all-time in school history in career home runs (62), while she is tied for second all-time in GSC history in career round-trippers.  She is second in the GSC in slugging percentage at a .779 clip for 37^th nationally, while she is fifth in the league in batting average at a .404 clip.  Gano leads the league in total bases (106) for 43^rd nationally and is tops in the GSC in walks per game at a 0.65 clip for 40^th nationally as she has 30 free passes.  Gano is 55 of 136 from the dish this season with 26 runs scored, three doubles and 42 RBI. 
 
Maulding enters the week second nationally in complete games (23), while she is second nationally in starts (28) and she leads the nation in innings pitched (187).  Maulding is third in the nation in appearances (35), while she is second in the GSC and 28^th nationally in saves (3).  She is second in the league and 15^th nationally in shutouts (6), while she is 15^th nationally and tops in the league in strikeouts (174).  Maulding is third in the league and 12^th nationally in victories (19-12).  She has a 2.58 ERA for the year.  
 
The Blazers own a 50-27 record against UWF dating back to Feb. 18, 2006.  VSU has won three of the last four meetings in the series and boast a 28-11 record in games played in Valdosta.  This marks the third-straight year of a regular season series played in Valdosta, while the teams also have met in the conference tournament each of the last three years.  Last season the teams didn't play during the conference slate, as UWF played at VSU in a non-conference doubleheader as the teams split with VSU winning 13-5 in six innings and UWF winning 6-4.  The Blazers then won 8-7 in eight innings in the conference tournament, ending the Argos' season.  
 
Blazer head coach Thomas Macera is in his 20^th season at the helm of the Blazers and is 827-276-2 at VSU, while he is 1,033-350-2 overall during his coaching career.  He is 399-144 in Gulf South Conference play since he began at VSU in 2005-06.  
 
The Argos enter with a 31-14 record overall and a 20-10 mark in GSC play.  UWF sits three games back of Auburn Montgomery who already earned a share of the GSC regular season title and the top seed in the conference tournament.  If UWF were to win out and AUM were to lose out to Montevallo, the Argos and Warhawks would share the GSC regular season title.  Mississippi College sits one game back of West Florida for third, followed by a tie for fourth between Valdosta State and Alabama Huntsville at 18-11.  West Alabama and Montevallo are a half game back for sixth, while Trevecca Nazarene is eighth.  Lee, Christian Brothers, Delta State and Union didn't qualify for the conference tournament.  Seeds 2-8 will be decided this weekend for the conference tournament set for Apr. 30-May 3 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.  Check back with vstateblazers.com Saturday evening to see who the Blazers will battle in the conference tournament.  
 
UWF won two of thee this past weekend versus Mississippi College and a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday versus Spring Hill College.  
 
This season, the Argos lead the GSC in batting average at a .321 clip for 38^th nationally, while the team is 17^thnationally in shutouts (11) for second in the league and lead the league with 20 sacrifice flies for 16^th nationally.  UWF is sixth nationally in triples (26) to lead the league, while the team is tops in the league in slugging percentage at a .505. clip for 26^th nationally. 
 
Individually, pitcher Haley Guffey is ninth nationally in complete games (21), while she is second nationally in starts (28) and sixth nationally in innings pitched (180.1) for third in the GSC.  She is 13^th nationally in appearances (33) for third in the league and ninth nationally in wins (20) to tie for the league-lead.  Erin Moon is fourth nationally in sacrifice flies (6), while Gianna Guerriero is 28^th nationally in stolen baes (30) for third in the league.  Moon leads the league in toughest to strikeout at a .009 clip for fourth nationally.