MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University softball team hits the road this weekend for their final regular season conference series of the year, facing Mississippi Valley State University in a three-game set that will determine the number two seed out of the East Division heading into the conference tournament in May.
 
Alabama State (14-29, 8-7 SWAC) currently holds the second seed, however, Mississippi Valley State (12-29, 7-8 SWAC) and Alabama A&M are looming behind the Lady Hornets with each having three conference games remaining. With a pair of wins on the road, the Lady Hornets would lock up the second seed in the division by virtue of the tiebreaker over both teams by winning the series against each.
 
The Lady Hornets enter the series having won their last conference series over Jackson State, and have won three of their last four games on the road this season. They come into the game after falling to ninth-ranked Auburn in front of their largest home crowd of the season (1,503) at Lagoon Park on Wednesday night.
 
Meanwhile, Mississippi Valley State comes into the series having split their last two conference series; however, they also enter the series having won their last series over East Division champion Alcorn State.
 
Valerie Centeno continues to be hot at the plate for the Lady Hornets as she leads nine players hitting over .300, as she has recorded a team-high .383 average this season – which includes a .449 clip in conference play. The senior leads the team with 46 hits and has recorded 12 extra base hits, including five triples which places her in the top 20 in the nation. Meanwhile, Perry Hindi continues to be near the top of the conference and on the team, hitting .345 with 11 extra-base hits and 18 runs batted in.
 
Kendall Core leads the Lady Hornets in power numbers while hitting .323. The senior hit her ninth home run of the season on the road at Jackson State, which leaves her just one shy of tying the school mark for home runs in a career. She also continues to climb the RBI chart, moving to third on the all-time list, with 38 this season.
 
Kaylee Davis (.333), Laura Aguilar (.319), Hailey Walker (.314), Taylor Rosser (.314), Charlene Castro (.304) and Alexia Boggess (.302) are the other Lady Hornets hitting above .300 for a team that leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in hitting at .306.
 
Vanessa Bradford (9-11, 4.58 ERA) leads the Lady Hornets in the circle this season with 125.1 innings logged. During that time, the freshman has recorded 57 strikeouts and allowed 161 hits. Meanwhile, fellow freshman Justine Jean (3-11, 6.28 ERA) has started 17 games this season and has 29 strikeouts; while Charlene Castro (2-7, 8.11 ERA) has recorded a pair of saves.
 
First pitch Friday is scheduled for 6 pm.
 
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