VALDOSTA — The Valdosta State softball team advanced to the South Super Regionals Monday afternoon with a victory over the Rollins Tars.

The win didn’t come without a fight, though.

After play resumed Monday morning in the top of the third inning — play was suspended Sunday afternoon due to severe weather — the Blazers struggled to find a rhythm and fell to the Tars 3-0, setting up a winner-take all South Region I championship game, which saw the Blazers pull out a 1-0 victory.

“I have been blessed my whole career,” said Valdosta State head coach Thomas Macera. “And then to come in here and to do this in front of all these fans here — I mean it is Monday and the place is packed — I am very glad they were here to cheer these girls on. But our program has come a long way in my seven years, and we have made a winning tradition here — the girls have made a winning tradition.”

With the win, the Blazers will host Florida Southern in the South Super Regional starting Friday night at 6 p.m. The appearance in the Super Regional marks the Blazers’ third trip past the Regional Tournament in the last four seasons.

“You get 800 people out here, screaming for your team, you don’t get that anywhere else,” said Macera about the opportunity to host the Super Regional in front of the home fans. “Like I said, it is Monday, and everybody took a holiday, and I am glad they did. We have unbelievable crowds, and they are into the games, they boo the umpires. You know it is great. You couldn’t ask for a better atmosphere for softball.”

Monday was dominated by two impressive pitching performances, and runs were hard to come by for both teams. Rollins’ Hope Bitzer tossed both games for the Tars and managed 12 combined strikeouts. She recorded 10 strikeouts in her complete game shutout that forced the series into the ‘if necessary’ game.

Bitzer stifled VSU in the opening game, surrendering just two hits and three total base runners to the Blazers. At one point, she recorded four strikeouts in a five at-bat range, and later recorded a 12-pitch strikeout against VSU’s Courtney Albritton.

“I was just confused,” said outfielder Morgan Johnson of facing Bitzer. “I didn’t know what she was going to throw me. The first time I struck out, it was on something outside, and then it was up. I just didn’t know what was going to happen. I just didn’t know what she was going to throw.”

In game two, junior Courtney Gunby pitched the best game of her career at VSU. Gunby managed her first solo shutout of the season, allowing just four hits in seven innings. She also struck out two batters, but needed big defensive plays in the fifth and seventh innings to secure the win.

“Gunby is a real good pitcher,” said Macera. “The thing I like about Gunby is she is a drop ball pitcher, and for anyone that knows me, I like a drop ball pitcher, because I have never seen a down low ball go over the fence before. Gunby throws 63 miles per hour. She is no slouch.”

With VSU leading 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning, Gunby ran into trouble after allowing a leadoff single to Veronica Alred, but a few at-bats later, she was helped out with a remarkable catch in right field by Clare Wamsley, who slammed face first into the outfield wall to secure the catch. The hit would have scored Alred from second, after Alred had advanced on a sacrifice.

In the seventh inning, with the Blazers just three outs from victory, Gunby and the Blazers got a big defensive play from Albritton, VSU’s center fielder, who robbed Alred of a game-tying home run by leaping up and pulling the ball back into play.

“Smiley (Albritton) caught that one and she actually hit her head on the pole when she caught it, and she was able to hang on to it,” said Macera. “She literally robbed a home run, and that was bonus ball there if that ball goes out, so that was a huge play. That kid has helped us out all year long. … Again, our defense came up huge today.”

Besides those few big plays, Gunby’s troubles were minimal. The Tars got a runner to second base in the second inning, but left the runner stranded, and were able advance a runner to third base in the sixth inning, but back-to-back outs by Gunby got the Blazers out of the inning.

“At the end of the day, I will take timely hits over hits, and that is what we had, we had the timely hits,” said Macera. “We got the timely hit, and they didn’t get it.”

VSU’s lone run of the day came off the bat of Johnson. The 2010 Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year connected on a RBI single in the third inning of game 2 that scored Angela O’Connor from third base, after O’Connor had reached on a walk to start the inning.

Prior to her eventual game-winning RBI, Johnson was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts against Bitzer. She followed up her single with another strikeout in the sixth inning.

“It felt so much better than striking out,” Johnson joked about her game-winning hit after the game. “I think I struck out like four times today, so I was just glad to put the ball on the ground and give our runners a chance to score.”

VSU’s Alanna Hadley struggled in the circle in the game 1 loss. At times, it seemed like Rollins knew what pitch was coming; the Tars racked up seven hits in the game, including a two-run home run in the three-run fifth inning that propelled Rollins into the lead and into the elimination game.

“The kid has shut people down all year,” said Macera of Hadley. “She just didn’t have her best outing. There is a lot of pressure here. There are a lot of things going on, and we didn’t hit either. We did give up three runs, three earned, but again we didn’t hit, so I can’t put it all on her, and I am not going to.”

Following Friday’s South Super Regional game, VSU and Florida Southern will meet Saturday at 1 p.m., with the ‘if necessary’ game being played soon after. All three games will be carried live on Talk 92.1 FM.