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PENSACOLA, Fla. – After a weekend away from conference action, the No. 2-ranked University of West Florida softball team will return to Gulf South Conference play for a series against No. 9 Valdosta State on Saturday and Sunday in Valdosta, Georgia. West Florida (25-3) currently leads the GSC with a 9-0 record in conference play, while Valdosta (16-5, 5-3 GSC) is tied for third.
 
Each game will feature a live video broadcast and live stats, which can be found by visiting the links above or following the links at GoArgos.com/Softball.
 
Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for a 3 pm ET start, and the Sunday series finale is slated to begin at 1 pm ET.
 
About Valdosta State
The Lady Blazers from Valdosta State enter the weekend ranked No. 9 in the country following a pair of losses at Mississippi College, and VSU is 16-5 overall with a 5-3 record in the Gulf South Conference.
 
Valdosta State is getting things done a little differently this year than fans may be used to seeing -- VSU is second to last in batting average and runs scored but leads the GSC with 24 home runs and has been one of the best pitching teams in the conference all season.
 
Caylie Van Auken and Kasie Johnson have been stellar in the circle, ranking third (0.93) and ninth (1.77) in the GSC in ERA, respectively. Johnson is also third in the conference in strikeouts (70) and Van Auken is fourth (66), and both rank in the top 10 in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
How We've Been Lately
While UWF's winning streak ended at 17 games on Sunday against No. 4 North Georgia, the Argonauts still got strong performances around the diamond in Dahlonega.
 
The Argonaut pitching staff put together a 1.35 ERA over 26 innings and allowed batters to hit just .202, led by a terrific weekend from Grace Gilbert. Gilbert tossed a pair of complete games, going 1-1 with a 1.08 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 13 innings.
 
Offensively, UWF stole eight bases and posted a .358 on-base percentage with 13 extra-base hits over the weekend. Despite a slower offensive weekend than usual, West Florida still ranks 6th in Division II in batting (.366), 10th in on-base percentage (.438), and 19th in scoring (7.11 runs per game).
 
Perkins in the Circle
A graduate of nearby Tate HS, Tori Perkins has taken a big step forward in the circle in her senior season. The UAB transfer ranks 11th in Division II with a 0.88 ERA and is 14th in the country in hits allowed per seven innings (3.75), while those marks rank second and third in the GSC, respectively.
 
Perkins is also second in the conference with a .154 opponent batting average and her eight wins are the second-most in the league.
 
The highlight of her season to this point has been a no-hitter against California (Pa.) on February 9 at the Leadoff Classic, when she went six innings and struck out seven in an 8-0 win. She has not allowed an earned run since March 2 against Mississippi College, striking out seven and allowing only six hits in nine innings since then.
 
Perkins has been absolutely dominant in relief this year, posting a 0.00 ERA over 18 innings and eight appearances out of the bullpen, with 16 strikeouts.
 
Goodness, Our Pitchers
UWF's dominant performances in the circle last weekend should have come as no surprise. The team is second in the GSC and sixth in Division II with a 1.25 ERA and the team has put together 10 shutouts, good for fourth-most in DII.
 
Tori Perkins (.154) and Kelsey Sweatt (.158) have each been close to unhittable, ranking second and fourth in the conference in opponent batting average, and Grace Gilbert's .211 opponent batting average is good for 11th in the conference.
 
Teala Howard Is Only A Freshman
Freshman Teala Howard has been one of the most electric players in the country this year, ranking in the top 30 in Division II in hits (43; 2nd), stolen bases (24; 10th), runs per game (1.26; 12th), batting average (.518; 13th), and on-base percentage (.559; 29th). Each of those marks also puts Howard in the top four in the Gulf South Conference, including her league-leading 34 runs scored.
 
The Lake Butler, Florida, native is a three-time GSC Freshman of the Week and has recorded multiple hits in 8 of her last 12 games played, including a 4-for-4 day against Montevallo on Wednesday when she scored three runs.
 
In all, Howard leads UWF with 15 multi-hit games for the season and has successfully stolen in 10 consecutive steal attempts.
 
How About Rhiannon Sassman
Senior Rhiannon Sassman has started the season on a tear for West Florida, leading the Gulf South Conference with six triples and ranking eighth in Division II in RBIs (32), 12th in total bases (62), and 18th in hits (36).
 
The senior broke the GSC career triples record on Wednesday against Montevallo, passing Lincoln Memorial's Nikki Carter (1993-96) with her 22nd career three-bagger.