MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The defending Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion Alabama State University softball team opens defense of its crown Wednesday morning against Prairie View A&M University in the 2017 SWAC Tournament.
 
First pitch is scheduled for 9 am at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex, on the campus of Alabama State University.
 
Alabama State (16-31), the second seed from the East Division, is led by First Team All-Conference selection Kendall Core at third. The senior is among the league leaders in home runs (nine) and runs batted in (45), while climbing the career charts in both categories at the school – as well as hits with 202.
 
Valerie Centeno, a senior outfielder and Second Team All-Conference selection, is the team's leading hitter his season at .393 – including .433 in conference play. She has reached base 32 times this season and has 12 multi-hit games, while being among the nation's leaders in triples with six. She is climbing the career charts in hits (196) and runs (121) entering the tournament. Senior second baseman Laura Aguilar, a Second Team All-Conference selection, is among the team leaders with 47 hits and is seventh in school history (183) in the same category. The senior is among the toughest in the nation to strikeout in the NCAA this season.
 
Sophomore Charlene Castro, the fourth all-conference selection for the Lady Hornets, is hitting .310 with four home runs on the season; while senior Perry Hindi is hitting .353 with five home runs to help pace the Alabama State attack that has accounted for 92 extra-base hits (including 26 home runs).
 
They will be facing a Prairie View A&M pitching staff led by First Team All-Conference selection Ashley Higgins, who posted an 11-14 record on the season. Higgins led the team with a 5.15 earned run average in 153.2 innings pitched, allowing 109 runs (88 earned) and recording 49 strikeouts. Taylor Frury finished 7-11 with an 8.53 earned run average for the Lady Panthers during the regular season, on a staff that recorded an ERA of 7.09 in 45 games.
 
Offensively, Prairie View A&M (19-26) is led by a pair of First Team All-Conference selections in Alyssa Garcia and Briana Knowles. The latter led the team in hitting this season at .356 with eight extra base hits and 22 stolen bases; while Garcia finished at .319 with 15 extra base hits (including six home runs) and 35 runs batted in. Shelby Williams, a Second Team All-Conference selection led the conference with 46 stolen bases.
 
Vanessa Bradford (10-12) and Justine Jean (4-12) will look to slow down the Prairie View A&M attack for the Lady Hornets on Wednesday. Bradford posted a team-best 4.60 earned run average, while striking out 59; while Jean finished with a 6.40 earned run average and 32 strikeouts. The freshman duo combined for 242.1 of a possible 292 innings for the Lady Hornets this season.
 
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