VALDOSTA —
The top-ranked Valdosta State softball team will host the Florida Southern Mocs tonight at 6 p.m. in the first game of the South Super Regional.
The two teams will play again Saturday at 1 p.m., with the “if necessary” game being held Saturday at 3:30 p.m. No team has swept the Blazers in a doubleheader this season, making the outcome of tonight’s game even more important.
“Really, we are just thinking game-by-game right now,” said senior second baseman April Hutchens. “(Tonight) is a big game, and it does make a difference as for who wins the regional. But even if we don’t win the first game, we will come back fighting Saturday.”
This weekend’s series will mark the final home games of the season for the Blazers, and with the opportunity to advance to their second Softball Championship Tournament in three seasons, the team is hoping to break yet another attendance record this weekend.
“First of all, thanks to everyone that has come out and supported us this season,” Hutchens said. “Second, I tell people all the time when I see them, I tell them to come to the game, because it is huge for us to have that support and the games are fun. It is a blast.”
“If you come watch these girls play, we had two girls crash into the fence this past weekend,” said head coach Thomas Macera. “One of them dented part of the fence, she hit it so hard, and we had a shortstop diving at balls to save a run. These girls work harder than everybody in the country, at any level. They are going as hard as they can go, and they are exciting to watch. They battle the whole time, and it is exciting ball to watch.”
As for what fans can expect this weekend, both teams come in with highly-respected pitchers. While most Blazer fans know of VSU’s Alanna Hadley, who sits with a 27-3 record and a 0.97 earned run average, Florida Southern’s Christine Clark is looking to lead her team to a national championship, and she has the skills to do it.
Clark enters the series with a 0.86 ERA, and the Blazers expect to see the left-hander in every game this weekend. After all, she has already pitched 261 innings this season, and she has pitched every inning for the Mocs since the start of the Sunshine State Conference tournament in late April.
The Blazers have faced just two left-handed pitchers all season, and according to Macera, his team will have to let pitches travel deeper into the zone before swinging.
“The ball comes from a different angle,” said Macera. “We have only seen two lefty pitchers all year, so it is just a different style of pitching from what you are used to. This late in the game, everybody has good pitching, so you just have to find some ways to score some runs.”
In Monday’s South Region I championship game against Rollins, the Blazers struggled to find their groove at the plate against Rollins’ Hope Bitzer, and the experience of facing one tough pitcher has prepared the team for what is ahead, says center fielder Courtney Albritton.
“I think it was really good, and it is going to help us a lot,” said Albritton. “Especially with pitch selection. We know we had to work on that a lot this week, and getting our timing down.”
While VSU entered the South Region I Tournament as the clear favorite last weekend, few people saw Florida Southern, who entered as the No. 6 seed, contending for the South Region II Tournament championship. But the Mocs were able to get hot and knock off third-seeded Barry, followed by back-to-back wins over West Alabama for the tournament win and the ability to advance to the Super Regionals.
“(Florida Southern) has gotten hot,” said Macera. “They were in the other region, and they were the low seed there, so they are doing something right to get going. It looks like their pitcher is keeping them in the game, and they are scoring some runs.”
One thing the Blazers have going for them this weekend is the play of their defense, which has been phenomenal this season, including last weekend in the regional tournament.
Both right fielder Clare Wamsley and Albritton robbed Rollins hitters of home runs that would have either put the Tars ahead or even with VSU in the second game on Monday.
“It kind of surprised me. I didn’t know the fence was there,” said Albritton when recalling her catch from the seventh inning of game 2 on Monday. “I think it says a lot about our outfield, but all-around our whole team is really good with defense, and as long as we can hit, we are going to win.”
If the Blazers can continue to play solid defense and hit the ball, as Albritton said, a series win would put the team just four wins away from hoisting the national championship trophy. The national tournament will be played in Louisville, Ky.
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Courtney Albritton and the Valdosta State Blazers will face Florida Southern in the South Super Regional tournament at the VSU Softball Complex. Game 1 begins today at 6 p.m. file photo
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Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times Ashley Steinhilber and the Valdosta State softball team will face Florida Southern in a best-of-three Super Regional series. Game 1 will be played today at 6 p.m. Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
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Blazers battle Mocs in Super Regionals
VSU hosts Florida Southern in a best-of-3 series, beginning tonight
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