LORMAN, MISS. – The first game was a dominating victory.
 
The second one forced the Lady Hornets softball team to dig deep and hold on in the midst of some late inning drama. 
 
Both resulted in Alabama State gaining separation in the race for the Southwestern Athletic Conference's (SWAC) Eastern Division top seed come playoff time.
 
Alabama State (17-19, 8-0 SWAC) topped host Alcorn State 9-1 in six innings in game one behind another strong pitching performance from Maddie Phelps and then secured a 7-6 game two victory for a Saturday sweep at the Alcorn State Softball Complex.
 
In game one, Maddie Phelps (10-7) was in control from start to finish, picking through the Braves' lineup with eight strikeouts in six innings pitched.
 
The Alabama State bats gave plenty to back Phelps, who won her conference-leading 10^th game of the season.
 
Batting from the eighth spot in the lineup, junior Alexia Boggess got ASU off and running with a RBI single to left in the second inning to give the team a 1-0 lead.
 
Boggess homered in the fourth and then added a RBI double to left center in the fifth. 
 
The shortstop finished 3-for-3 with three RBI.
 
The heart of the Lady Hornets' lineup made Alcorn State (9-18, 5-3 SWAC) pay by batting a combined 5-for-9 with five RBIs. 
 
Charlene Castro batted 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI and Kendall Core was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. 
 
In game two, ASU got off to another fast start by taking a 7-1 advantage backed by Kendall Core and Castro, who each had two RBIs. 
 
Carly Evans and Brittney Wilson each added RBI singles.
 
Melissa Christmann (6-8) picked up the victory after tossing five innings and allowed just one run on three hits.  She struck out three batters and walked none. 
 
The Braves made it interesting after a bases-clearing three run double by Montana Holyfield in the sixth inning to cut the lead to 7-4.
 
Maddie Phelps came on relief to earn the save after Alcorn got as close as 7-6 in the seventh inning on a pair of RBI singles by Taylor Hughes and Vanessa Sanders. 
 
Thorne was in the center of the Lady Hornets run-producing innings as the senior batted 3-for-4 with three runs scored to up her season's batting average to .410. 
 
Evans also had a productive game, batting 3-for-3 with a RBI. 
 
Up next
Alabama State, winners of nine of their last 11 games, concludes their three-game series at Alcorn State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
Live stats can be followed at http://www.sidearmstats.com/alasu/softball/

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