Today, the Gulf South Conference’s two perennial softball powers clash on the ball field.

The fourth-ranked Valdosta State Lady Blazers (31-6) will battle the No. 1 team in Division II, the Alabama-Huntsville Lady Chargers (35-1-1) at the VSU Softball Complex. Game 1 of today’s doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m., with the second game to follow shortly afterwards.

It will be a big game, particularly in the South Region standings. Alabama-Huntsville is ranked No. 1 in the South Region, with a 31-1 record in region play, while VSU is No. 4 (with a 25-6 region record).

For the second year in a row, the VSU-UAH game will be “Pack the Park” day at the VSU Softball Complex. Fans are encouraged to come to the game and support the Lady Blazers as they face their always-tough conference rivals. Last year, a VSU-record 509 fans showed up on “Pack the Park” day to see the Lady Blazers sweep a doubleheader from the Lady Chargers, 7-4 and 4-2.

The Lady Blazers appreciate the fans’ support.

“Our hometown crowd is second to none. We don’t play in front of a bigger crowd anywhere,” Valdosta State head coach Thomas Macera said.

The Alabama-Huntsville team that is heading to Valdosta today has been almost unbeatable this season. The Lady Chargers are 35-1-1. The tie came when darkness halted a game against Indianapolis after eight innings on Feb. 27. The only team that has beaten UAH is Tusculum, which won 3-2 on March 13 at a tournament in Dahlonega. Tusculum managed just one hit in the win, and the Lady Chargers bounced back from that loss by routing North Georgia (currently the No. 3 team in Division II) 9-1 later that same day.

“They’re No. 1 in the country. They’ve lost one game all year,” Macera said.

UAH’s two starting pitchers, Whitney Toler and Whitney Gilbert, are 14-0 and 11-1 with earned run averages of 1.38 and 1.44, respectively. And when the Lady Chargers go to their bullpen, they usually bring in senior left-hander Alex Lewis, who is 6-0 with 11 saves and an almost-incomprehensible 0.12 ERA.

At the plate, UAH’s lineup is filled with .300 hitters. Eleven different Lady Chargers are batting .305 or better. Stephanie Needham leads the team with a .393 average, while Kathryn Whitlock (.374), Emily Roach (.366), Mary Kelley (.363) and Abby MacKay (.361) are all batting at least .361. Needham, MacKay and Kelley share the team lead with five home runs apiece. Leadoff hitter Kelli Long is batting .348, and is 32 for 32 in stolen bases. The Lady Chargers are batting .340 as a team, and have hit 35 home runs.

“They can swing the bat, they can play defense and they’ve got good pitching. They’re a complete team,” Macera said.

Valdosta State also has a hard-hitting lineup. The Lady Blazers are batting .333 as a team, and have hit 37 home runs.

Third baseman Samantha Posey is hitting a blazing .468 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. All-American Marti Littlefield is batting .396 with four homers and 25 RBIs. Colette Rollins is hitting .375 with six homers and 33 RBIs. Natalia Morozova is batting .353 with four homers and 38 RBIs. Ashley Steinhilber is hitting .347 with four homers and 24 RBIs.

“We have (had everyone healthy) the last several weeks, and we’re playing better for it,” Macera said.

In the circle, VSU’s Holly Satterfield is 18-3 with a 0.61 ERA. Margaret Carter is 7-1 with a 1.44 ERA, but if you subtracted a bad outing against UAH last month, Carter would be 7-0 with a 0.73 ERA. Krystle Robinson is 6-2 with a 1.89 ERA.

Macera feels like his team is playing its best softball of the season.

“We’re playing probably better than we’ve played all year,” he said. “In the last three weeks, we have gotten better each outing. We played very well against North Alabama, then played even better against West Alabama.”

“We just have to play our game (against UAH),” he added.

Valdosta State has already seen the Lady Chargers this year. On March 19, the Lady Blazers lost 3-2 in eight innings and 10-3 in a doubleheader in Huntsville.

As part of the “Pack the Park” promotion, the first 150 Valdosta State students to enter the VSU Softball Complex today will receive a free pair of Valdosta State sunglasses.