VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Lee University softball team stroked 13 hits on their way to claiming a 9-3 win over Valdosta State University Friday afternoon at Steel's Diamond at Blazer Park. The Lady Flames evened their overall record at 21-21 and improved to 8-16 against GSC opponents, while VSU dropped to 23-18, 16-8 GSC. The win snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Blazers.
Twelve of Lee's 13 hits were singles with Javaria Smith recording the lone extra-base hit with a three-run home run to complete the team's four-run fourth inning. Smith finished 3-for-5 with four RBI. Rylie Goodridge added three hits to join Smith for the team lead. Ana Macha and Hailey Simco tallied two hits each. Alexa Scalzo, Alyson Jarvi and Ava Perkins rounded out the Lee batting with one single apiece.
The Blazers grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI single by Brandie Seber followed by Seber eventually scoring on a passed ball. Lee responded with four runs in the next frame. With two outs, Macha singled in Perkins and Smith drilled a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence to plate Scalzo, Macha and herself for a 4-2 lead.
The Lady Flames added solo runs in the fifth and sixth innings with help from a couple errors by the home team.
A sacrifice fly by Chloe Eichelberger in the sixth inning pulled VSU within three runs. Once again the Lady Flames responded with a few more runs of their own. Macha singled to score Perkins and Smith followed with an RBI single to plate Scalzo. Two batters later, Jarvi drove in Macha with a sacrifice fly to give Lee a 9-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
Layne Bailey, who entered the game to relieve Natalie Pruitt-Geesey in the eighth inning, allowed just one baserunner in the seventh to complete the win. Pruitt-Geesey gave up three runs, four hits, five walks and struck out three over five innings of work to earn the win and move to 15-6 for the season. Bailey allowed one hit in the final two innings to post her fourth save.
Claire Maulding was charged with the loss. She gave up four runs, nine hits and walked one while fanning four in four innings.
The Lady Flames continue the three-game series against the Blazers on Saturday with the first game of the doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m.
Coach Emily Russell's Thoughts:
"The team did a a great job today of staying present and playing through the game focused on their effort and our strengths. Natalie had another great start and Layne came in with bases loaded and got us off the field only giving up 1 run. We had solid approaches up and down the lineup and we were able to score throughout the game keeping pressure on VSU. It was a great way to open the series."
