Shane Thomas | The Valdosta Daily TimesValdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera talks to infielder Nicole Pennington and another player during a break in the action against West Georgia April 17 at Steel’s Diamond.

VALDOSTA –– Riding an 18-game winning streak, the No. 2 Valdosta State softball team returns to the road this weekend in a three-game series at Christian Brothers. 

he series is set for a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, followed by a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Fans can access links to live stats and streaming at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page. Check back with vstateblazers.com following the games for complete recaps and stats.  VSU enters the series with a 29-3 record overall and a Gulf South Conference-best 22-2 record. The 18-game winning streak is the second-longest streak in the country behind University of Indianapolis’ 22-game streak. It also is VSU’s longest streak since the team won 26 games during the 2015 season. Christian Brothers is 7-26 overall and 7-20 in GSC play.  CBU is playing its home games at St. Benedict at Auburndale High School.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, there will be limited capacity at St. Benedict at Auburndale High School for CBU softball games. Capacity is limited to two (2) family members of each CBU student-athlete/coach. No visiting fans are allowed in the stands. Visiting fans are allowed to bring lawn chairs and sit down the first base line outside the stadium to watch.

The Blazers learned Wednesday afternoon they are one of the eight teams under consideration for the NCAA South Regional, scheduled for May 19-22 at Steel’s Diamond at Blazer Park in Valdosta. VSU was awarded hosting duties for the regional last week as the NCAA announced the predetermined sites due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Check back with vstateblazers.com in the coming days for ticket information on the regional. Along with VSU, Alabama Huntsville, Auburn Montgomery, Mississippi College, West Florida and West Georgia all were listed as under consideration from the GSC. Rollins and Saint Leo from the Sunshine State Conference also were listed as under consideration.

In looking at the current GSC Standings with two weekends remaining, VSU holds a three-game lead over Auburn Montgomery (19-5), while the Blazers hold a four-game lead on Alabama Huntsville and West Florida (18-6).  VSU leads West Georgia by six games (16-8). AUM finishes the season at home versus Montevallo and at West Alabama, while UAH is at Delta State this weekend and hosts VSU the first weekend in May. West Florida is at West Georgia this weekend and hosts Lee the final weekend (May 1-2). The 2021 Gulf South Conference Championship is set for May 6-9 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.

VSU is coming off one of the most dominating series’ of the season as it swept a three-game set with West Georgia, outscoring the Wolves 25-0. The Blazers have not allowed a run in the last 32 innings dating back to the second inning in a 10-1 victory over West Alabama on Apr. 11. The Blazers also are riding five-straight shutouts and have 11 shutouts for the season. Six of the Blazers’ last seven games have ended by way of run-rule in either the fifth or sixth innings. VSU has had 16 games end by run-rule this season with ten stopping in five innings.

The Blazers have hit double-digit home runs in each of their last three home series’ with 11 home runs last weekend versus West Georgia, 13 versus West Alabama the previous week  and 12 versus West Florida the final weekend in March. For the season, the Blazers lead the nation with 76 home runs and in home runs per game at a 2.38 clip. The Blazers’ 76 dingers are good for seventh all-time in school history in home runs in a season for the Blazers. The 2010 squad hit 78 for the season for sixth all-time, while the school-record is 98 set in 2009. VSU has hit 60 of the 76 round-trippers at home this season in 19 home games.

VSU is seventh nationally in batting average at a .360 clip, while it is fifth nationally in ERA (1.24), third nationally in on-base percentage (.459), fifth in scoring at 8.19 runs per game and the team leads the nation in slugging percentage at a .692 clip. The 11 shutouts by the Blazers are good for fifth nationally, while VSU is second nationally in total runs (262), second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.29), second in WHIP (0.80) and seventh in walks (142).

Junior Nicole Pennington leads the nation in home runs with 18 and home runs per game at a 0.56 clip per game. Her 18 home runs are good for eighth in school history in a season. Teammate Kiley Robb is fourth nationally in home runs with 14, while freshman Morgan Hill is 10th with 12 dingers. Senior Logan Hill is 25th nationally with ten home runs as four players have double-digit home runs for the season. Freshman Aniston Gano has nine and senior Lacey Crandall also is closing in on double-digits with eight home runs.

Not only has the offense been outstanding, but so has the pitching staff as sophomore Samantha Richards, who earned her fifth GSC Pitcher of the Week honors, is 14th nationally in ERA (0.90).  She is sixth in starts (20), third in complete games (16), third in victories (19), fifth in WHIP (0.81), fifth in strikeouts (160) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio at a 13.33 clip.  Richards has been outstanding all season long with a 19-2 record in 124.2 innings, six shutouts and two combined shutouts, while recording two saves. Richards is just 13 strikeouts away from breaking into the top ten in school history in strikeouts in a season as Briana Collis had 173 in 2007. M. Hill also has been strong on the mound as she is 6-1 with a 1.27 ERA in 49.2 innings. She has 44 strikeouts to just seven walks for the season.

The Bucs enter with a 7-26 record overall and a 7-20 mark in league play. CBU is 3-9 at home this season as this is Senior Weekend. CBU has dropped its last seven games, but had won five-straight prior to that. CBU is 3-9 at home this season.

CBU is second nationally in hit by pitches with 45 and is eighth nationally in walks with 139. Ashley Dyer has been hit 15 times for second nationally. The Bucs are led by Josie Bond who leads the team with a .350 average in 32 starts. She is 35 of 100 from the dish with 21 runs scored, one double, one triple and 17 RBI. In the circle, Macy Cumming is 5-8 with a 4.44 ERA in 93 innings and 64 strikeouts.

The Blazers lead the all-time series with CBU 29-0, including 8-0 in Memphis, Tenn. VSU has outscored the Bucs 275-43 for the series and have not played in Memphis since a series sweep in 2017.