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OXFORD, Ala.- The Valdosta State softball team continued to keep their Gulf South Conference championship hopes alive, defeating West Florida in a gritty, eight-inning contest, 8-7. Junior Abby Sulte delivered the knockout blow with a bloop single to left field in the eighth to send the Blazers to a Friday afternoon matchup against the No. 1-seeded Choctaws of Mississippi College.

The Blazers kicked off their third appearance in the conference tournament with a bang as Freshman Toree Wofford went three-up, three-down in the top of the first.

The VSU offense started cooking in the bottom of the frame as senior Morgan Hill got on base behind an Argonaut fielding error just before Abby Sulte took a walk. Senior Katie Proctor then squared up a pitch right down the middle, blasting it to deep left field for a three-run homer, giving the Blazers a 3-0 lead in a hurry.

The Argos struck back in the top of the second, loading the bases on three base knocks including a well-placed bunt. The Blazers were able to limit the damage, only giving up two runs on a pair of sacrifice flies to maintain the lead, 3-2.

The Blazer bats struck back in the bottom of the third as Sulte blasted a rocket just in front of the left fielder for a lead-off base hit. Sophomore Saylor McNearney then continued her dominant stretch at the plate, crushing a two-run bomb for her eighth home run of the past month to put VSU back up by three, 5-2.

West Florida pulled the game back within one run in the top of the fifth, stringing together four hits in the frame including a timely double for two runs, 5-4. However, the Blazers continued to stay hot at the plate in the bottom of the fifth as senior Aniston Gano continued her excellent weekend in Oxford with a double golfed to the left field fence.

Proctor then took a walk before McNearney smashed a hard-hit single to put another run on the board for VSU, 6-4. Junior Carly Bogart capped off the inning with a single that dropped by the left-field line for another run as the Blazers built up yet another three-run lead, 7-4.

UWF continued to threaten the Valdosta State lead in the top of the sixth, picking up two more runs scored on two hits and a wild pitch to make the contest interesting, 7-6. The Argonauts came back and tied up the game in the top of the seventh on another barrage of base hits and a hit-by-pitch walk as the Blazers gave up their first lead of the game, 7-7.

Despite getting two runners in scoring position, the Blazers were unable to walk the game off in the bottom of the seventh as the game headed into extra innings. VSU managed to get out of the top of the eighth unscathed as the Blazer offense came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth.

Valdosta State went to work immediately in the bottom of the eighth as junior Brandie Seber sliced a lead-off single past the second baseman to put a runner on. Hill then layed down a bunt that turned into an error as the Argonaut catcher overthrew the first baseman, giving Seber lee-way to make it to third base.

With runners on the corners, Sulte “called game” on a single that dropped in front of the left fielder to give the Blazers the 8-7 victory in dramatic fashion.

Wofford got the start for the Blazers and went 4.2 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. She fanned two batters and allowed no walks. Junior Savannah Barfield then came in and pitched 1.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits, two walks and a pair of wild pitches. Junior Madison Lumpp (11-6) closed out the game while picking up her 11th victory of the season. In 1.2 innings of work, she allowed just two hits for no runs with no walks.

The Blazer offense tallied 11 hits in the contest including a double from Gano and homers from Proctor and McNearney. Four Blazers had a multi-hit game including Sulte who went two for four at the plate with two runs and the game winning RBI to earn Guardian Bank Player of the Game honors.