PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas | Alabama State pounded out 17 hits en route to winning the series opener over Prairie View A&M 17-8 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) actions at the Panthers Softball Complex Friday.
Alabama State (10-20, 2-2 SWAC) started the scoring early on a solo home run by
Casey Durham on the fourth pitch of the game. The Lady Hornets used doubles by
Kristin Gunter,
Charlene Castro and
Hailey Walker, and a home run off the bat of
Amira James for a five-run first inning. The Panthers got on the scoreboard on a double from Shelby Williams to trim the deficit to 5-1.
The Lady Hornets increased the lead to 7-1 when Gunter drove in
Kaylee Davis and
Jordan Amerson, before Prairie View A&M added three more runs of their own in the bottom half of the second inning to trim the deficit to 7-4.
Alabama State put together another big inning with seven runs in the third. The Lady Hornets wasted no time in putting the first run on the board in the inning when James hit the first pitch out of the ballpark for an 8-4 lead. The lead continue to grow after Aimee Felicies drove home
Hatty Shope, before scoring on a bases loaded walk to extend the lead to 10-4. The Lady Hornets got another run when
Jordan Amerson scored on an infield error, before
Charlene Castro hit a two-run single to extend the lead to 13-4.
James drove in the last run of the inning as the Lady Hornets batted around, with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 14-4 after three innings.
Alabama State put up another run in the fourth after a Felicies single and stolen base, before scoring on a Durham double to extend the lead to 15-4. Prairie View A&M answered with four of their own in the bottom half of the fourth inning to trim the deficit to 14-8. However, Castro ended the scoring with a two-run home run in the seventh for the final margin.
Durham led the offensive attack as she went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBi and runs scored, while Castro went 3-for-4 with five runs batted in and James finished 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four runs batted in.
Justine Jean went three innings and allowed eight runs off of eight hits with a pair of strikeouts, while
Skyler Sullivan came in with four innings of scoreless relief.
Follow the Hornets
For complete coverage of Alabama State University softball, please follow the Hornets on social media @BamaStateSB (Twitter), /BamaStateSports (Facebook) and @BamaStateSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Alabama State athletics at BamaStateSports.com.
