MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Each game played out in a much different manner, but the Alabama State softball team won both against SWAC Eastern Division rival Alabama A&M on Saturday afternoon with an awaiting celebratory team huddle at home plate for junior catcher Aleesa Yanez. 
 
In game one, freshman pitcher Chelsea King was dominant in the circle and Yanez provided the winning RBI single as the host Lady Hornets won in walk off fashion 1-0 in nine innings.
 
In game two, the ASU  bats awoke for 13 hits as Yanez sealed it with a two-run shot to centerfield to run-rule the Lady Bulldogs 10-2 in five innings. 
     
Game 1: Alabama State 1, Alabama A&M 0 (nine innings)
 
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Carly Evans got it started with a one-out single down the third base line.
 
Chelsea Rivera pinch ran for Evans.  Kendall Core drew a walk. 
 
One batter later, Yanez delivered a base hit that just got through the right side of the infield to score Rivera for the win. 
 
"Today, I wanted to take a different approach," said Yanez, who increased her batting average on the day 15 points from .266 to .281 for the season.
 
"I know that I had been struggling so I put in a lot of work off the field.  I was just more relaxed. I knew that my teammates had my back and I felt like I could do this." 
 
The Lady Hornets (14-28 overall, 8-5 SWAC) turned their luck around after having lost four of their five conference games by two runs or fewer. 
 
On Saturday, ASU was the team who had the flair for the dramatic victory. 
 
King (3-4) mowed down batters, striking out a career-high seven, and walked just one for her first shutout over nine innings of work. 
 
The right hander scattered just three hits and faced just four batters over the minimum. 
 
King threw 109 pitches with 74 accounting for strikes. 
 
No runners reached third base and only one runner advanced safety to second base.
 
"My curveball and drop ball kept them on their toes," said King, who lowered her seasonal ERA to 1.21. 
 
"I felt like they didn't know if I was coming in or out or down.  [Today's win] gives us that fire that we've needed.  We've had so many games where we didn't finish it.  I think it showed us that we can do it.  We just have to fight together as a team.  It's going in a good direction.  I felt like we played as a team today and that really showed." 
 
Yanez batted 2-for-4, second baseman Jazzmin Romero went 2-for-3 with a double and Evans finished 2-for-4. 
 
"Chelsea [King] gave us a chance to win the ball game," said ASU softball coach Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson.
 
"She made things happen.  She let us get warm and let us get going.  I'm very proud of her for being clutch.  She could have let it get away at any time, but she didn't.  A lot of the games we lost in conference this season were one-run games or walk offs so it really was nice to finally have the tables turned in our favor."
 
Game 2: Alabama State 10, Alabama A&M 2 (five innings)
 
The Lady Hornets got off to a fast start by scoring four runs in the second and three more in the third. 
 
ASU tacked on another run in the fourth before closing it up with the two-run home run by Yanez.
 
"We know how good of a kid she [Yanez] is and how good of a player she is," Steiner-Wilcoxson said. "We really waited for this to happen all season for her to shoot up, be a leader and come through in the clutch."
 
Yanez batted 2-for-3 with three runs scored, her third homer of the season and four RBI. 
 
At the top of the lineup, Laura Aguilar and Valerie Centeno each batted 2-for-3 with a RBI apiece. 
 
Continuing down the lineup, Core batted 3-for-3 with a run scored, Perry Hindi was 2-for-2 with a run scored and a RBI, and Brittney Wilson had a two-run triple to right center field in the second inning to get the first runs of the game on the board. 
 
In the circle, Maddie Phelps (6-10) worked five innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on just three hits. 
 
The junior struck out two, walked two and hit one batter. 
 
Tiana Sanders and Jessica Alferos each had a RBI apiece to lead the Lady Bulldogs (15-21 overall, 5-7 SWAC). 
 
The teams are scheduled to play again on Sunday at 1 p.m. from the Barbara Williams Softball Complex. 
 
Live stats can be followed at http://www.sidearmstats.com/alasu/softball/
 
Tweets will be made throughout the game @ASUBUZZ. 
 
#GOHORNETS#