Three Blazers selected to the 2023 Softball All-GSC Teams
VALDOSTA, Ga.- Senior pitcher Samantha Richards, sophomore outfielder Abby Sulte and freshman first baseman Jayme Prandine have been named to the 2023 All-Gulf South Conference team as selected by league coaches. Richards and Sulte earned a spot on the first team with Sulte being an at-large selection while Prandine made the second team.
Richards earned All-GSC first team for the third straight season in a row, becoming the only player on the current list of honorees to reach this accomplishment. The Alpharetta, Ga. native finished the season as the GSC leader in strikeouts (226), wins (24), innings pitched (215), shutouts (7), and saves (3). Nationally, Richards is first in complete games (29), third in games started (30) and third in pitching appearances (41). Also of note, Richards current career total of 836 strikeouts ranks fifth best in GSC career strikeouts.
Sulte, a native of St. Petersburg, Fla., earned first team honors as an at-large selection for the first time in her career. Sulte finished the regular season going 47 for 37 for a team-high .356 batting average. She had two doubles, 19 home runs and 54 RBI through 47 games. Sulte is tied for first in the GSC in home runs (19) and home runs per game (0.40) while being third in RBI (54) and fifth in slugging percentage (0.803).
Prandine had a breakout first season with the Blazers to earn All-GSC second team. Prandine played in all 47 regular season games, starting in 44 of them. She tallied 35 runs on 38 hits with five doubles, one triple, six home runs with 17 RBI for a .302 batting average. Prandine ranks second in the GSC in sacrifice bunts per game (0.19) and eight in walks per game (0.57). She also currently has a streak of reaching base in 12 straight games.
The Blazers will now turn their attention to the first matchup of the GSC Tournament with 4-seed Auburn Montgomery set for Wednesday, May 3 at 4:30 p.m. ET. Streaming will be available through FloSports while live stats and updates will be posted to vstateblazers.com.
