VALDOSTA –– Coming off a pair of midweek wins at Albany State, the No. 19-ranked Valdosta State softball team continues on the road this weekend as it travels to Montevallo for a key Gulf South Conference series. The Blazers and Falcons begin the series today at 2 p.m. ET with a doubleheader, followed by a single game Sunday at noon ET.

VSU dropped three spots to No. 19 in the latest NFCA Top 25 this week as the Blazers went 1-2 against Auburn Montgomery last weekend in Valdosta. On Tuesday, VSU won 8-1 in the opener of a doubleheader at Albany State and then gunned down the potential winning run at the plate for the third out in the bottom of the seventh, before scoring six runs in the top of the eighth for a 12-6 win in the nightcap.

The Blazers are 25-11 overall and 8-9 in Gulf South Conference play and currently are ninth in the league standings. Montevallo is 21-19 and 10-11 in league play and is in a tie for seventh with Delta State.

The Falcons have won four straight entering the series, winning two of three at Mississippi College and a doubleheader sweep of Tuskegee. UM is 6-6 at home this season and this will be its first home series since March 24, as the Falcons have played the last seven games on the road.

Montevallo enters the series hitting .291 on 308 of 1057, while scoring 221 runs with 68 doubles, seven triples, 19 home runs and 188 RBI. The team is slugging .423 and reaching base at a .390 clip. The Falcons are 90 of 114 in stolen bases this season, while recording a .957 fielding percentage with 46 errors leading to 29 unearned runs.

From the plate, Haley Barnette leads the team with a .398 average on 47 of 118. She has 10 doubles, 34 runs scored, a team-high eight home runs and 32 RBI. She is 10 of 13 in stolen bases. Mariel Bertossi is second in average at .361 with 39 hits, 36 runs scored, ten doubles, four home runs and 33 RBI. Brianna Stella (.350 avg.) leads the team with 37 runs scored, while recording 43 hits and is 24 of 28 in stolen bases to lead the team.

In the circle, UM has a 3.34 ERA in 256 innings, allowing 256 hits, 151 runs – 122 earned, walked 121 and fanned 206 as teams are hitting .257 against it. Abbey Pratt is 6-4 with a 2.28 ERA in 20 appearances with 10 starts. She has pitched 80 innings, allowing 71 hit, 33 runs – 26 earned, walked 32 and fanned 55. Teams are hitting .235 against her. Mychael McMillan is 7-4 with a 4.14 ERA in 66 innings, allowing 62 hits, 44 runs – 39 earned, walked 26 and fanned 67.

The Falcons are 26th nationally in stolen bases per game at 2.25, while ranking 32nd in doubles per game at 1.7 and 47thin on base percentage at a .390 clip. UM has seven shutouts for third in the GSC and 28th nationally. Bertossi is 23rd nationally in hit by pitch per game at 0.33, while ranking 53rd in RBIs with 33. Barnette is 28th in hits with 47, while ranking 45th in home runs with eight. She also has 81 total bases for 24th nationally and third in the league. Carlee Mullinax is 10thin walks at 0.82 per game.

The Blazers enter the series hitting .283 on 264 of 933. The team has scored 202 runs with 48 doubles, four triples and 43 home runs, while driving in 175. VSU is slugging .481 with 140 walks, ten hit batters, and a .379 on base percentage. The Blazers are 53 of 58 on the base paths and have a .963 fielding percentage with 35 errors leading to 21 unearned runs.

Junior Haley Garrett leads the team with a .370 average on 37 of 100, scoring a team-high 32 runs with six doubles, and a team-best nine home runs, tying her with redshirt freshman Kiley Robb. Garrett has 22 RBI for second on the team to Robb’s 29, while Garrett leads the team with a .700 slugging percentage and boasts a .438 on base average with 11 walks. She is 4 of 4 in stolen bases. Junior Fallyn Johnson is second in average at .314 on 11 of 35 from the dish, while junior Natalia Bellinger is hitting ..289 with 24 hits 19 runs scored, four doubles and three home runs. Junior Taylor Strickland leads the team with three triples.

In the circle, sophomore Caylie Van Auken leads the team with a 1.85 ERA in 102 innings as she is 9-4 on the year in 19 appearances with 15 starts and 11 complete games. Van Auken has allowed 96 hits, 37 runs – 27 earned, walked just 14 and fanned 120 as teams are hitting .240 against her. Senior Kasie Johnson is 12-3 with a 2.41 ERA in 90 innings. Johnson has appeared in 19 gams with 16 starts, six complete game and three shutouts, while Van Auken has two shutouts. Johnson has allowed 81 hits, 35 runs – 31 earned, walked 14 and fanned 109.

As a team, the Blazers have a 2.37 ERA in 239 innings, allowing 222 hits, 102 runs – 81 earned, walked 34 and fanned 266 as teams are hitting .238 against them.

Nationally speaking, VSU is 38th in ERA at 2.37, while ranking 60th in fielding percentage at a .936 clip, 10th in home runs per game (1.19) to lead the conference and the team leads the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio at a 7.82 clip. VSU is 37th in slugging percentage at a .481 average, 28th in shutouts (7) and 55th in scoring at 5.61 runs per game.

Garrett and Robb are 26th nationally and third in the league in home runs (9), while junior Dream Aaron is fifth in walks at 0.88 per game. Van Auken is sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio at an 8.57 clip, while ranking 19th nationally in strikeouts (120) and 31st in strikeouts per seven innings (8.2). K. Johnson is 46th in shutouts (3), 24th in strikeouts per seven innings (8.5) and 32nd in wins (12).

Following the series, VSU returns home to host Christian Brothers AprI’ll 13-14 at Steel’s Diamond, followed by a non-conference doubleheader AprI’ll 16 at 4 p.m. versus Embry-Riddle.