MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama State and Southern split their Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) series Friday night at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex, but not before Alabama State made a run late in the nightcap.
Alabama State (9-18, 1-1 SWAC) ran away from Southern late in the first game, winning the conference opener 6-2 over the Jaguars. The two teams traded runs in the first three innings, before the Lady Hornets took the lead for good in the fourth on a Southern error for the 2-1 lead.
The Lady Hornets would blow the game open in the fifth with a four-run inning in which
Charlene Castro came through with an RBI double, before
Hailey Walker added a two-run single to push the lead to 5-1. The scoring was complete when
Marina Clark singled home Walker for the 6-1 lead.
Justine Jean (3-4) picked up the win in the opener, working seven innings and allowing two runs – one earned – off of four hits, with five strikeouts. Castro led the effort at the plate with a pair of hits.
In the nightcap, Southern built a big lead before Alabama State came back in the seventh – only to fall short 12-10. After falling behind 12-5, Alabama State started the bottom of the seventh inning off with a leadoff single by
Kaylee Davis. She moved to second on a throwing error before Castro walked, and
Makala Burt loaded the bases with a walk.
The third walk of the inning scored a run for Alabama State and trimmed the lead 12-6, before
Vanessa Bradford delivered a three-run double with one out to trim the lead to 12-9. The Lady Hornets would push their final run across on an infield error to trim the lead to 12-10.
Skyler Sullivan (3-7) suffered the loss for the Lady Hornets, working four innings and allowing 10 runs – only two were earned off of five Alabama State errors. Castro came in to work the final three and allowed a pair of runs off of five hits.
Davis led the offensive attack for Alabama State, finishing the nightcap going 3-for-4 with three runs scored.
The rubber game of the series will start at 12 noon tomorrow from the Barbara Williams Softball Complex. Admission is free to all home softball games.
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