Blazers claim GSC title, spot in NCAA Tourney
Published 7:19 pm Monday, May 7, 2018
- Valdosta State AthleticsThe Valdosta State softball team is pictured after winning the Gulf South Conference championship in Florence, Ala., on Saturday night.
The Valdosta State softball team was crowned Gulf South Conference co-champions with top-seeded North Alabama on Saturday night. The Blazers were awarded a spot in the NCAA Tournament on Monday.
The Blazers (41-11) will compete in the NCAA Division II South Regional for the 12th consecutive season. Their side of the bracket competes in West Palm Beach, Fla., on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic.
The Blazers enter the field of 64 in the South 1 Region bracket as the No. 5 seeded team. Valdosta State’s first matchup in the double-elimination tournament will be against the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (35-15), who will represent the No. 4 seed.
Joining the fray and serving as the tournament hosts with a 33-6 record on the season, are the No. 1 seeded Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish. The Sailfish face Albany State, who enter as the No. 8 seed out of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Valdosta State’s opening contest is slated for 3:30 p.m. Thursday and full coverage of the tournament will be available via links at www.vstateblazers.com. A video live stream of all games will be provided by PBA, and Blazer Athletics will bring audio coverage of all Valdosta State games, courtesy of WDDQ Talk 92.1 FM and Fox Sports Radio WJEM 1150 AM / 96.1 FM in Valdosta.
VSU advanced undefeated into the third day of the GSC tournament, after what proved to be a critical 8-5 win against Alabama-Huntsville on Friday night in Florence, Ala. As a result, the Blazers protected themselves from becoming a tournament casualty when the committee determined that weather would not allow the tournament to continue. According to by-laws predetermined by the GSC, if two teams remained undefeated under such circumstances, both would be declared league champions.
The title for the Blazers marked the program’s eighth all-time and their first since the team defeated UAH 11-7 for the championship back in 2014.
