THIBODAUX, La. – The Alcorn State University softball squad may have dropped two games Wednesday evening to Nicholls at the Colonel Softball Complex, but not before impressing the crowd with complete-game performances from junior
Robin Harrison and freshman
Ambria Dorsey.
"Robin did a great job keeping them off balance," said Lady Braves head softball coach
Josef Rankin. "Ambria had a tough first inning and then settled in and just kept making pitches. What Robin and Ambria did today was show everyone that they can compete. You look at the score and it should give us some confidence that we played ok and still hung in there despite the losses."
Game 1 – Nicholls 4, Alcorn 3
Harrison was dealing in game one, scattering seven hits while striking out two. She also struck out two and put up zeroes in four of six innings pitched.
Alcorn (3-5) strung together four hits for three runs in the top of the first inning, beginning with senior second baseman
Sametria Collins' single through the left side. Junior outfielder
Mariah Ortiz walked before junior first baseman
Taylor Hughes tagged a hit up the middle to load the bases.
Junior catcher
Jessica Crum drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly to right field. Senior right fielder
Vanessa Sanders then pulled the ball over the right fielder's head for an RBI double. Sophomore third baseman
Victoria Tyler concluded the Lady Braves scoring with a single to right field.
Harrison held the Colonels (11-2) scoreless for the first three innings. Her first blemish came on a two-out rally in the fourth started by a bloop single to right by shortstop Amanda Gianelloni. Three additional singles resulted in two runs for Nicholls.
Back-to-back bunt singles and an overthrow at first on the latter resulted in the Colonels third run that tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Caitlyn Carroll then grounded out to Collins which scored Jessica Taylor to give Nicholls its first lead of the ballgame.
Collins reached on a bunt single to commence the seventh, but three straight strikeouts ended Alcorn's comeback bid.
2 – Nicholls 4, Alcorn 1
Dorsey followed up Harrison's performance with a complete game of her own, allowing seven hits and four earned runs in six innings pitched.
The Lady Braves struck first again in the second game as senior outfielder
Adriana Gutierrez crossed home on a wild pitch that walked Crum.
The Colonels answered in the bottom half with a two-RBI single from catcher Veronica Villafranco. Nicholls would add another run in the second on an infield single from Gianelloni. Dorsey would blank the Colonels for the next three innings and allow just one more for the remainder of the contest.
Collins extended her reached base streak to eight games after two hits in game one and one in game two.
Alcorn returns to action Saturday in a noon doubleheader against Southeast Missouri State at the Alcorn Softball Complex.
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