Softball | 5/9/2017 9:48:00 AM

Lady Braves Begin 2017 SWAC Championships against Southern on Wednesday

SWAC Championship Central | Alcorn Game Notes | Live Radio | Live Stats

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After posting the best conference record and winning the SWAC East Division title, the Alcorn State University softball program will open the 2017 SWAC Championships on Wednesday against Southern at 6 p.m. at the Barbara Williams Complex.
 
Alcorn (16-29, 13-5 SWAC) is the No. 1 seed from the east, while Southern (15-20, 7-10) is the No. 4 seed from the west. The Lady Braves clinched the top seed with over two weeks left from the regular season.
 
Junior Taylor Hughes was named both the SWAC Player of the Year and Hitter of the Year. She was the only player in the conference with at least 35 hits, runs scored and runs batted in. Hughes was dominant in league play, hitting .491 against conference opposition and driving in 20 runs. She's on a 20-game on-base streak.
 
Junior Jessica Crum was tabbed the SWAC Newcomer of the Year.  She finished with a .395 batting average – third in the league – hitting nine home runs and plating 48 runs. It marked the second year in a row that the Newcomer of the Year came from Alcorn as Paige Breal won last season.
 
The Lady Braves notched five All-Conference selections. In addition to Hughes and Crum who earned First-Team honors, junior Robin Harrison, senior Sametria Collins and junior Mariah Ortiz were named to the Second-Team.

Harrison and freshman pitcher Ambria Dorsey were nearly unhittable in conference. Harrison registered a 1.68 ERA and Dorsey 1.69.
 
In SWAC play, Alcorn outscored the opposition 111-58. The Lady Braves tallied a 2.20 team ERA. They saw their starting pitcher toss a complete-game in 12 contests with three shutouts.
 
As a team, the Lady Braves led the SWAC in runs scored (209), hits (339), RBI (185), doubles (61), total bases (488) and walks (117).

Alcorn went on a seven-game winning-streak in conference where it outscored the opposition 55-14.
 
The Jaguars had an up-and-down season. They enter Wednesday on a four-game skid after getting swept by Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the final series and dropping a mid-week contest to Southeastern Louisiana.
 
Aubrion James, the team's ace, was Southern's lone All-Conference selection as she earned a spot on the Second-Team. She registered a 2.56 ERA with five wins in 14 starts.
 
The winner of Wednesday's game will play Thursday at 6 p.m., while the loser plays Thursday at noon. The championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday on the SWAC Digital Network.
 
All of Alcorn's games can be heard on WPRL 91.7 FM with Charles Edmond on the call.

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