SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — Valdosta State’s softball team finished third at the Gulf South Conference tournament this weekend.

The Lady Blazers were eliminated from the tournament by Alabama-Huntsville 9-3 Sunday morning.

Despite the loss, Valdosta State (48-17) will be one of the eight teams playing in the South Region tournament in Miami Shores, Fla. next week, playing for a trip to the national tournament. The Lady Blazers found out Sunday night they will be the No. 6 seed.

The Chargers (49-6), ranked No. 2 in the nation, went on to win the championship, routing Arkansas Tech 8-0 in the finals.

VSU’s fate was all but sealed when Alabama-Huntsville scored seven runs in the third inning, a lead that proved to be too much for the Lady Blazers to overcome.

Valdosta State took the early lead with a run in the first inning. Andi Braswell led off with a single to left field and was sacrificed to second by Audrey Massingill. Alex Acosta reached on an error by the shortstop, and Braswell scored.

UAH answered right back, scoring two runs in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, the Chargers used a single, a passed ball, a walk, a hit by pitch and another single to score two runs.

The Chargers then exploded with a monstrous third inning. Kristina Prater drove in two runs with a single. Another single through the left side scored another run. With the bases loaded, VSU pitcher Ashley Hill walked the next three batters, allowing Huntsville to take a 7-1 lead.

Kristen Lindsey came in to pitch with two outs and gave up a single to Beth Lawson, which drove in the final two runs of the inning, and made it 9-1.

With the threat of elimination after five innings on their mind, the Lady Blazers scored two runs in the fifth inning to keep their hopes alive. Kristie Cornell pinch hit and singled to left field. Kelsey Case came in to pinch run and advanced on a single from Kylie Zweifel. Braswell bunted the runners over, and Acosta singled up the middle, driving in two runs and cutting VSU’s deficit to 9-3.

The Alabama-Huntsville pitchers held VSU for the next two innings, winning 9-3. UAH gave up only seven hits, no walks and had four strikeouts.

VSU pitchers had seven walks, 12 hits and only one strikeout in the game. Zweifel and Acosta each had two hits in the game.