VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 5-seeded Valdosta State softball team opens the 2025 Gulf South Conference Championship on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. ET in Oxford, Ala., versus No. 4-seed Alabama Huntsville at Choccolocco Park.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more on the GSC Championship Central webpage by clicking here.  
 
The Blazers went 26-23 overall this season and were 19-13 in Gulf South Conference play.  VSU won 17 of 20 games after starting the season 6-10 beginning with winning two of three games at UAH on Mar. 1-2.  Following a 1-0 win over at then-No. 5 Auburn Montgomery on Apr. 4, the Blazers finished the season winning just three of their final 13.
 
VSU and UAH lead the league with nine conference titles apiece with the Blazers' last coming in 2018, while UAH won it most recently in 2023.  The Blazers are 78-51 all-time in the GSC postseason tournament, while UAH is 80-37.  This year marks VSU's league-best 35^th appearance in the tournament.  VSU is 9-5 all-time in the championship game.  The Blazers also are 9-13 against UAH in the GSC postseason championship and 3-2 against the Chargers in the championship game.  The Chargers won 2-1 to begin the 2024 championship versus VSU.  
 
UAH leads the all-time series with VSU 79-57 as VSU has won four of the last seven in the series, including the regular season series in March.  The series victory for the Blazers marked the first for VSU in Huntsville since May 16-17, 2014, in the NCAA Super Regional and the first time in a regular season, three-game series since Apr. 5-6, 1997.  
 
For the series in March, VSU hit .256 for the series with 13 runs scored, 22 hits, five doubles, one triple five home runs and 13 RBI, while UAH hit .253 with 12 runs scored, 20 hits, two doubles, one triple, one home run and ten RBI.  Senior Aniston Gano went 6 of 9 from the plate with two runs scored, one double, two home runs and five RBI.  Freshman Krisley Arnold was 5 of 11 from the dish with two runs scored, one. Double, two home runs and three RBI.  
 
In the rubber-match, Gano hit two RBI singles and a solo home run from junior Saylor McNearney, while graduate pitcher Claire Maulding pitched all eight innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, walked six and fanned three.  She finished the series 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 15 innings, allowing 14 hits, five earned runs, walked seven and fanned eight.  In the opener of the series, VSU scored five runs over the final two innings for a 6-3 win, while UAH won the middle game 7-4, plating five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after VSU regained the lead at 3-2 in the top of the frame.  
 
The GSC Championship gets underway on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET with (3) Mississippi College battling (6) West Alabama and (2) West Florida facing (7) Trevecca Nazarene at 1:30 p.m. ET, prior to the VSU/UAH game.  The final game of the day will be (1) Auburn Montgomery vs. (8) Trevecca Nazarene at 7 p.m. ET.  If the Blazers defeat UAH, they would face the winner of AUM/Trevecca on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.  If VSU loses to the Chargers, it would play in an elimination game against the loser of AUM/Trevecca at 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday.  
 
The Blazers were not in the most recent NCAA South Region Top Ten, announced last Wednesday.  AUM was fourth in the region rankings, while West Alabama was sixth, Mississippi College was seventh and West Florida was eighth.  There will be a new region ranking announced Wednesday afternoon, while the NCAA Division II Softball Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, May 5 at 10 a.m. ET on NCAA.com. 
 
Blazer head coach Thomas Macera is in his 20^th season at VSU and is 828-278-2 (.748), while he is 1,034-352-2 (.745) in his collegiate coaching career.  Macera is 41-22 (.650) all-time in the GSC Championship with nine championship game appearances and seven titles.  He is 41-47 at VSU against the Chargers.  UAH head coach Les Stuedeman is 1,295-451-1 (.742) all-time in 30 years at the helm of the Chargers and 79-57 against VSU.  
 
This season, the Blazers are eighth nationally in home runs (63) to lead the league, while they are 15^thnationally in hit by pitches for second in the GSC (42).  VSU is second in the league in slugging percentage (.465) for 47^th nationally, while it is fourth in on base percentage at a .374 clip.  VSU is third in the league in sacrifice bunts (43) for 28^th nationally, while the team is third in the league in sacrifice flies (16). The Blazers are second in the GSC to UAH in walks with 165 for 38^th nationally.  
 
Individually, Gano is seventh nationally in home runs with 17 as she is second all-time in GSC history in career home runs with 63 for second in school history.  Gano is 19^th nationally and tops in the league in on base percentage at a .527 clip, while she is second in the league in RBIs (44).  She leads the league in total bases (111) for 52^nd nationally.  She is second in the GSC in OPS (on-base plus slugging) at a 1.309 clip.  
 
Maulding is second nationally in complete games (25) to lead the league, while she is third nationally and second in the league in starts (30).  She leads the nation in innings pitched (202.2) and second in the league in appearances (38).  Maulding is 18^th nationally and tops in the league in strikeouts (181), while she is 12^thnationally and second in the league in wins with a 20-12 record this season.  She has a 2.56 ERA for the season.
 
UAH enters with a 27-20 record overall and went 19-12 in GSC Play this season.  Maddie Cartron is sixth in the GSC in at a 1.047 clip.  Cartron has a team-high .356 average with eight doubles, eight home runs and 37 RBI.   As a staff, the Chargers are at a 3.51 ERA with Katie Bracken and Megan Shurtz doing most of the heavy lifting in the circle. Bracken has a 2.70 ERA in 155.2 innings and 178 strikeouts, while Shurtz has a 3.03 ERA in 118 innings of work.
 
Against the field this season, the Blazers went 13-8 with sweeps of Montevallo and West Alabama, along with winning 2-1 against Mississippi College and UAH.  VSU went 1-2 against AUM, Trevecca and West Florida.