Written by Christopher Mercer, Sports Editor

The Lady Blazers come into this weekend series with a 23-17 record and a 16-7 record in the Gulf South Conference play. They are in the midst of a four-game losing streak, as they fell in their previous matchup against the Embry Riddle Lady Eagles on Tuesday in a doubleheader, 2-1 in game one and 3-0 in game two.  

One of the clear strengths of the Lady Blazers this season has been the stellar pitching from starter Claire Maulding. 

Her last start against the Lady Eagles saw her pitch all seven innings while allowing three hits, two runs and seven strikeouts. She is going into her next start sporting a 2.45 ERA, which is the fifth-best ERA in the GSC.  

While at the plate, infielder Aniston Gano’s power display has been the difference-maker for the Lady Blazers. Gano currently ranks fourth in the GSC in batting average at .432 with a GSC-leading 12 home runs. She also ranks second in the GSC in OPS at 1.305.  

Their opponents in the Lee University Lady Flames come in with a 20-21 record and a 6-17 record in the GSC play and are coming in off two losses in doubleheaders against North Georgia. 

Despite the teams’ records, the Lady Flames have a .312 batting average, while the Blazers have a .285 batting average. However, the Blazers are the clear power team, leading the GSC in home runs with 49 in the season compared to the Lady Flames’ 30 home runs.  

 Game one of the series begins on Friday, April 11 with the first pitch at 5 p.m. and games two and three take place on the following Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. All game will be live streamed on Flo Sports.

Photo courtesy of VSU.