MONTGOMERY, Ala.| Alabama State used a three-run fourth and a complete game from Justine Jean to advance to their fifth consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championship game with a 3-2 victory over Prairie View A&M Friday night at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex.

Alabama State (23-22) trailed the Panthers after two, following a two-run home run by Serena Antone in the second inning. However, that was all that Prairie View A&M (30-16) could get against Jean (10-12), who finished the game scattering 10 hits over seven innings.

Meanwhile, the Lady Hornets got on the board in the fourth inning after Charlene Castro reached on a throwing error, and was lifted for pinch runner Kaitlyn Kilner who moved to second on a Hailey Walker single to center. Amira James reached on a fielder's choice on a sacrifice attempt to load the bases, and the Lady Hornets got on the board when Teah Steel was hit by an 0-2 pitch to bring in Kilner and trim the deficit to 2-1.

Casey Durham followed with a sacrifice fly to left to score Walker from third to tie the game at 2-all, before James created chaos on the base paths with a stolen base. She stole third, and the throw went into left field for the final run of the game and gave Alabama State the 3-2 lead.

Alabama State returns to action in the SWAC Championship Game slated for 2 pm at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex Saturday afternoon. The game will be carried on the SWAC Digital Network.

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