MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The last two Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champions battled head-to-head for 40 outs until Texas Southern University used the final out of the game to drive home the winning run and defeat Alabama State University 3-2 on the second day of the 2017 Championship Tournament.
 
"It has gone back and forth every year," Alabama State head coach Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson said. "This game has always been a one run ball game, and it has been tight and very close. You know it is going to go down to the little things, and we just didn't execute when we needed to and didn't come through when we had opportunities. When you get six walks and get people in scoring position, you have to make things happen and we just didn't do that today. We let too many opportunities get by us."
 
Trailing most of the game, Texas Southern (23-18) tied the game in the bottom of the sixth before getting the first two runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning with an infield hit and a throwing error. After a sacrifice bunt by Madilynn Marek moved the runners to second and third, Chanler Powell drove home Kelsey Riley with the winning run and moved the Lady Tigers to the 2 pm game Friday afternoon.
 
After the teams a battled to a scoreless tie through three innings, sophomore Amira James pinch hit for Charlene Castro in the designated player position in the fourth inning. The sophomore took a 2-2 pitch from Texas Southern starter Lauren Rodriguez and drilled the ball over the left field fence for her third home run of the year, and a 1-0 Alabama State lead.
 
The game would stay that way until the top of the sixth when James again would come up big for the Lady Hornets after a lead-off walk. The sophomore advanced to second and then to third on a sacrifice bunt from Therese Byrne, scoring on an errant throw by Texas Southern to put Alabama State up 2-0.
 
"I was really proud of her for stepping up today," Steiner-Wilcoxson said. "She has had some opportunities all season to come in as a pinch hitter, and that is some of the things that we try to do in training the girls to be ready for opportunities that may arise. You have to have depth on your bench. You have to have pinch runners, you have to have pinch hitters and stuff like that.
 
"But I am really proud of her. She stayed balanced, stayed focused on the situation and didn't let what was going on around her affect her. I was really proud of her stepping up and doing the right thing. It was a really big hit and gave us momentum from the beginning."
 
Texas Southern would come back in the sixth inning, beginning with a Sierra Valdez sacrifice fly to center that scored Heaven Benavidez from third to trim the deficit to 2-1. After Texas Southern loaded the bases on an apparent strike that was ruled a hit by pitch on Krystalani Yockman, and the Lady Tigers scored five pitches later to tie the game when Marissa Padron walked to tie the game at 2-all.
 
Alabama State had their chances throughout the game, stranding nine runners on base in the process. The Lady Hornets looked to get on the board in the top of the first inning when Kendall Core hit a ball down the left field line that scored Laura Aguilar from second, however, the ball was ruled foul and after some discussion the inning ended on a strikeout.
 
The Lady Hornets left a pair of runners on in the second after a lead-off single by Perry Hindi and after Castro was hit by a pitch, before Rodriguez was able to shut the door on Alabama State. The Lady Hornets loaded the bases in the fourth after the James' home run before Texas Southern was able to get out of the jam to end the inning.
 
Vanessa Bradford (10-13) started and logged 6.2 innings for the Lady Hornets, scattering seven hits in the loss. She allowed three runs, only two earned, with two strikeouts. The Lady Hornets were held to four hits by Rodriguez in the loss, reaching base with six walks and a hit by pitch on the day.
 
"I am really proud of the way we fought," Steiner-Wilcoxson said. "I think Bubba (Bradford) did a great job, even hurting she pitched a great ball game. That was the best she has pitched against them this year. I thought the defense did a really good job behind her, we just didn't have the hits we needed when we needed them."
 
Alabama State (17-32) returns to action tomorrow morning against Prairie View A&M at 9 am inside the Barbara Williams Softball Complex, with the winner advancing to a matchup at 4:30 pm against a team to be determined. 
 
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