MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Laura Aguilar hit her second home run in two weeks for the Alabama State University softball team, this time in walk-off fashion, as the Lady Hornets defeated Alabama A&M University 8-0 in the final game of the series at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex Saturday evening.
With the Lady Hornets up 7-0 entering the sixth inning, the senior stepped to the plate and hit the second pitch from Alabama A&M pitcher Caitlyn Hayden over the left field fence and into traffic for the walk off in the 8-0 victory.
The Lady Hornets scored a pair of runs early in the first inning on a two-run single by
Perry Hindi, before adding another in the second on a
Kaylee Davis RBI single for the 3-0 lead. The lead grew to 7-0 with a four-run fourth inning on RBI hits by Davis, Aguilar and
Kendall Core which set the stage for the bottom of the sixth heroics.
Vanessa Bradford (7-7) pitched a complete game three-hit shutout. She allowed three other runners to reach via walk on 86 total pitches. The freshman got some help defensively with diving plays at first (
Diauna Nelson) and in right (
Brittney Wilson) in the victory.
Davis led Alabama State (11-22, 6-3 SWAC) at the plate in the first game as she went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and RBI. Aguilar also finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored, while Hindi and
Alexia Boggess each picked up a pair of hits in the series-clinching victory.
Although the Lady Hornets won the series, they blew a 7-2 lead after the first inning in game one before falling to Alabama A&M 14-11.
"It's disappointing when you get out to such a big lead in the first inning," Alabama State head coach
Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson said. "You get complacent and we just made some mental mistakes and had some mental errors. We are a better team than that.
"We hit the ball and got people on," Wilcoxson said. "At the end of the game when we needed to come through, we didn't and they did. They wanted it more than we did obviously. The second game was a good way to bounce back, but it is just hard to swallow when you beat a team 8-0 and 10-0 in the other two games. When everything is right, its right … we shouldn't be in that situation. Yes we got a conference series, but we have to stay focused and play consistently."
In the first contest on Saturday, the Lady Hornets jumped on the board early with a seven-run first inning, and led 8-3 through three innings when suddenly Alabama A&M charged back into the game with a five-run fourth.
Alabama A&M (10-22, 3-5 SWAC) took their first lead of the game at 10-8 with a pair of runs in the fifth inning, before Alabama State came back with three of their own in the bottom half of the inning to take an 11-10 lead. After
Charlene Castro drew a leadoff walk, Boggess was hit by a pitch and Wilson singled to load the bases with one out.
Aguilar drew a one-out walk to trim the lead to 10-9, before
Valerie Centeno singled to right to score Boggess and Wilson for the one-run lead after six. However, Alabama A&M was able to add four in the top of the seventh to take the lead and held on in the bottom of the half of the inning to force the rubber game in the series.
Justine Jean (3-9) suffered the loss out of the bullpen, logging 3.1 innings in the circle and allowing seven runs (six earned) off of four hits. She walked five and struck out four in the effort.
Centeno finished the opener 2-for-3 with a run scored and two runs batted in, while Wilson went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs scored. The Lady Hornets were held to seven hits by the Alabama A&M duo of Jada Jackson and Hayden through seven innings.
Alabama State returns to action Tuesday on the road in a doubleheader with Charleston Southern. First pitch for the doubleheader is 1 pm (est).
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