MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University softball team returns to action for the first time since Sunday afternoon, traveling to Nashville (Tenn.) to face Tennessee State and Belmont in a pair of doubleheaders this weekend.
 
Alabama State (2-6) enters the contest after winning the final game of the Black and Gold Tournament over Fort Wayne, 10-4, in a game where the Lady Hornets pounded out 11 hits. In the final game of the weekend, Valerie Centeno recorded a pair of triples while four other players picked up a pair of hits each in the victory.
 
Senior Kendall Core, the Preseason SWAC Player of the Year, led Alabama State over the weekend in the three games,
finishing the week hitting .600 (6-for-10), with a pair of extra base hits. Core finished with a triple, home run and five runs batted in; all while scoring a pair of runs. She finished the weekend slugging 1.100 and had on-base percentage of .600. Her best game of the weekend came against UT-Martin in which she finished 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and two RBI, hitting a triple and home run in the victory.
 
Core was not the only player this weekend to shine at the plate as Laura Aguilar, the single-season hits leader at Alabama State, picked up five hits over the three games. She was able to collect multiple hits in a pair of games – UT-Martin and Akron. Several other players picked up multiple hits on the weekend for the Lady Hornets.
 
For the year, Perry Hindi continues to lead Alabama State at the plate as she hitting .429 with a pair of home runs and five runs batted in; while Core has added a pair of home runs and nine runs batted in for the Lady Hornets in nine games – all while hitting .409.
 
Vanessa Bradford (2-3) leads the Lady Hornets on the mound with a 5.96 earned run average in 22.1 innings pitched. She has allowed 30 runs (19 earned) on 35 hits, while striking out 17. Bradford finished 1-1 over the weekend for the Lady Hornets in the Black and Gold Tournament. She finished the week logging nine innings, and recording a 7.00 earned run average. Against Fort Wayne in the final game of the tournament, the freshman picked up the win working 5.2 innings and allowing just four runs (only one earned) off of seven hits, while striking out a pair of Fort Wayne hitters. Meanwhile, Charlene Castro (who is hitting .300 for the Lady Hornets) has picked up a pair of saves in the two victories for Alabama State this season.
 
Alabama State and Tennessee State have met three times in the last two years, with Tennessee State winning two of the contests. The Lady Hornets recorded the lone victory over Tennessee State 11-4 last season. Meanwhile, this will be the second consecutive season that Alabama State and Belmont have played, with the Bruins winning both contests last season.
 
Alabama State and Tennessee State will play Friday with first pitch scheduled for 3 pm, while the Lady Hornets and Belmont will face off Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1 pm.
 
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