Shane Thomas | The Valdosta Daily TimesValdosta State starting pitcher Samantha Richards comes out of her wind-up during a game against West Alabama on Saturday.

VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 2 Valdosta State softball team returns home for the final regular season home series versus West Georgia this weekend at Steel’s Diamond at Blazer Park.  The series is scheduled to get underway Saturday at 2 p.m. with a doubleheader, followed by a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.

Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and more at vstateblazers.com on the softball schedule page.  The series will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM in Valdosta and online at talk921.com.

The Blazers are 26-3 overall and lead the GSC with a 19-2 record.  VSU has won its last 15 games dating back to Mar. 14. The Blazers are 15-1 at home this year and have swept their last three conference series’.  Auburn Montgomery and West Georgia sit tied for second in the league standings each with a 16-5 record. Following the Blazers, UWG and AUM in the standings, sits West Florida with an 18-6 record in league play, while Alabama Huntsville is 15-6 and Mississippi College is 12-8.

UWG enters the series with a 20-8 overall and a 7-6 record on the road this season.  The Wolves swept a home series against Union last weekend.  This season, the Wolves are hitting .311 on the year with 156 runs scored, 241 hits, 46 doubles, five triples, 25 home runs and 150 RBI.  The Wolves are 29 of 35 in stolen bases and are slugging .481 for the season, while reaching base at a .409 clip with 107 walks and 27 hit batters.

Individually, Kristyn Nix leads the team in average at a .398 clip, while she leads the GSC and is seventh nationally in doubles with 13.  Nix has a team-high 35 hits, 21 runs scored and 19 RBI.  Six different players are hitting over .300 this season, while Lexi Close leads the team with eight home runs and 24 RBI.

In the circle, the Wolves boast a 2.46 ERA for third in the GSC.  UWG has pitched 190.1 innings, allowing 142 hits, 83 runs – 67 earned, walked 68 and fanned 220 as teams are hitting .201 against it.  Close is 5-1 with a 1.68 ERA in 15 appearances with one start.  She has four saves on the season for second nationally, and has pitched 33.1 innings, with 48 strikeouts and 15 walks.  She leads the GSC in strikeouts per seven inning and is 16th nationally at a 10.1 average.

UWG has three of the top four pitchers in the league in strikeouts per seven innings. Morgan Goree is second at 9.5 K’s per seven innings and Kya Draper is fourth at 7.6.  Draper is 6-2 in 12 starts with a 1.90 ERA.  She has pitched a team-high 62.2 innings, fanned 68 and walked just ten.  Draper is second in the GSC to VSU sophomore Samantha Richards in strikeout-to-walk ratio at a 6.8 clip and second to Richards in WHIP as Draper is at a 0.83 clip.

VSU leads the all-time series with UWG 102-14 and 46-8 in Valdosta.  UWG won the series in 2019 in Valdosta, 2-1, in the previous series meeting.  The teams have split the last ten meetings.  VSU has outscored UWG 852-264.  Since 2016, VSU is 6-5 against the Wolves.  Before that, VSU had won 37-straight dating back to Mar. 23, 2006.

The Blazers are coming off a 9-0, five-inning, run-rule victory at Albany State on Wednesday afternoon.  VSU plated six runs in the sixth inning and three in the fourth for the victory.  Seniors Logan Hill and Lacey Crandall each had home runs in the game, while Richards tossed a one-hitter in five innings, walking none and fanning a season-high 13 Golden Rams in 16 batters faced.  The game was the 14th run-rule victory of the season for the Blazers and ninth of five innings.

VSU will honor four seniors on Senior Day Sunday as the 2021 Blazer Senior Class includes; Lacey Crandall, Logan Hill, Avery Lamb and Kiley Robb. Each of these seniors have had outstanding careers for the Blazers both on the diamond and in the classroom. Best of luck ladies in your future endeavors.

The Blazers moved to No. 2 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 this week. Augustana (S.D.) leads the poll, followed by the Blazers and a tie for third between North Georgia and UT Tyler. Indianapolis rounds out the top five. Rollins, from the Sunshine State Conference and South Region member, is eighth, while GSC foes Alabama Huntsville (13th), West Florida (20th) and Auburn Montgomery (23rd) also are ranked. 

This season VSU has two players in junior Nicole Pennington and Robb who are hitting over .400 for the season in 29 starts. Pennington leads the nation in home runs with 16 and in home runs per game at a 1.8 clip.She has 41 hits, 42 runs scored, four doubles and 43 RBI, while she is slugging 1.094 for the year and reaching base at a .604 clip with 23 walks and been hit three times. She is nationally ranked in the following areas:

27th in batting average (.482)

7th in on base average (.604)

5th in RBI (43)

7th in Runs Per Game (1.50)

2nd in Slugging Percentage (1.094)

3rd in Total Bases (93)

Pennington has reached base safely in all 29 games this season and the last 31-straight dating back to 2020. She also has a current 12-game hitting streak matching her season-high hitting streak set earlier in the season. She and Robb are tied for the team-lead in multi-hit games with 11, while Pennington has 13 multi RBI games for most on the team. Pennington was named GSC Player of the Week for the second time this season as she blasted four home runs against West Alabama last weekend, including her first grand slam of the season.

Robb is second on the team in average at a .402 clip in 29 starts. She has collected 35 hits with 26 runs scored, seven doubles, 12 home runs and 38 RBI. Robb is slugging .897 for second on the team and has drawn 13 walks for a .480 on base average. Robb is among the nation’s best in the following categories:

4th in Home Runs (12)

7th in Home Runs Per Game (0.43)

13th in RBI (38)

20th in Slugging Percentage (.897)

22nd in Total Bases (78)

As a team the Blazers also have been outstanding as they are among the national leaders in the following areas;

7th in Batting Average (.360)

8th in ERA (1.41)

1st in Home Runs (65)

1st in Home Runs Per Game (2.24)

2nd in On Base Average (.461)

5th in Scoring (8.2)

17th in Shutouts (8)

2nd in Slugging Percentage (.678)

2nd in Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio (8.13)

4th in Total Runs (237)

5th in Total Sacrifice Bunts (29)

3rd in WHIP (0.83)

6th in Walks (133)

A total of seven Blazers are hitting over .333 for the season and all seven of them have played in 28 games or more this season. In addition, the Blazers are 55 of 58 in stolen bases for the season.

Not only have the Blazers been outstanding offensively, but also in the circle, as Richards has been a force this season and is among the national leaders in the following areas

3rd in complete games (15)

27th in ERA (0.99)

5th in games started (19)

11th in appearances (22)

11th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.73)

3rd in victories (17)

8th in strikeouts (142)

10th in WHIP (0.75)

23rd in walks allowed per seven innings (0.71)

Freshman Morgan Hill also has been strong in the circle as she is 5-1 on the year with a 1.25 ERA in 10 appearances with nine starts. She has two complete games with one shutout and one combined shutout. M. Hill has pitched 44.2 innings and fanned 42, while walking just seven. She also has excelled at the dish with 10 home runs for third on the team as she is hitting .360 for the season with 36 hits, 35 runs scored and 29 RBI. M. Hill leads the team at a perfect 14 of 14 in stolen bases.

Senior Avery Lamb has pitched 18.1 innings, and is 3-0 on the year with 14 strikeouts and three walks, while freshman Mia DeAngelis has pitched 2.1 innings with a 1-0 record, walked two and fanned two.