MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After falling behind 4-0, the Alcorn State University softball program scored three runs and had the tying run on third base when Southern was able to hang on for a 4-3 result in the first round of the 2017 SWAC Championships on Wednesday at the Barbara Williams Complex.
Alcorn (16-30, 13-5 SWAC), which won the SWAC East Division and earned the No. 1 seed from the east, trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. The Lady Braves loaded up the bases when senior
Adriana Gutierrez singled down the left field line to score two runs and cut the deficit in half.
In the bottom of the seventh, SWAC Player of the Year
Taylor Hughes led-off the inning by reaching second base after an error in left field. She scored on another error after senior
Montana Holyfield hit a ball to second base to make it a 4-3 game. A ground out advanced Holyfield to second, and a passed ball moved her to third. With two outs, Southern (16-20, 7-10 SWAC) was able to record a ground out to second to end the game.
Hughes, a junior who also earned All-Conference First-Team honors, posted two hits in the game. She extended her on-base streak to 21. Senior
Courtenay Holt also notched a pair of hits and a walk.
Junior
Robin Harrison, an All-Conference Second-Team honoree, tossed 6.1 innings in the circle and struck out four. Junior
Madi Creed registered the final two outs without allowing a hit.
The fourth-seeded Jaguars from the West Division posted a three-run fifth inning after taking advantage of a pair of errors by Alcorn.
The teams ended even with seven hits apiece.
Despite the loss, the Lady Braves are still alive in the double elimination bracket. They will square off with Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the No. 2 seed from the West, at 12 p.m. Thursday.
All of Alcorn's games can be heard on WPRL 91.7 FM with Charles Edmond on the call.
Quoting Alcorn head coach Josef Rankin
Opening Statement
"It was a tough loss, but it happens. I have to credit Southern; they got hits when they needed them. It was disappointing how we played on defense. We didn't do a good job of catching or throwing and that was the most disappointing part."
On stranding 10 runners on base
"Yeah you just need to come up with timely hits. We didn't really give ourselves a chance with pop flyballs. It's frustrating because we had a plan going in but we weren't able to execute it. I don't question the effort, it was just a few decisions that we made. Hopefully we come back tomorrow and put together some better at-bats."
Closing Statement
"It's not so much about getting beat, but how you get beat. It was decisions like we had where we'd throw the ball home instead of to second when we've practiced that all year. We have to be better defensively and we just couldn't come up with the big hit today. We had runners in scoring position in almost every inning. Now it's just a longer road to get to where we want to be."
#FearTheBrave
