JACKSON, Miss. – The Alcorn State University softball program jumped on Jackson State early to win a lopsided rubber match 9-1 in six innings Friday at the JSU Softball Complex.
The Lady Braves (7-23, 4-2 SWAC) posted a big six-run second inning and tacked on two more in the third to pull away. Alcorn outhit JSU (8-22, 2-10 SWAC) 9-4 and also took advantage of seven errors by the Lady Tigers.
"Our goal for every conference series is to win the series and we took care of what we needed to today in order to do that," said Alcorn head coach
Josef Rankin. "I was really pleased with all phases especially in the dugout. That's an important phase that sometimes we miss. We really had great energy. I was most proud of our players for showing a lot of class throughout the weekend in representing our program and University."
Sophomore
Ambria Dorsey fired a complete-game and did not allow an earned run. She gave up just four hits and struck out three to earn the win.
"Ambria was great in the circle today. We challenged our pitching staff before the game and it's awesome to see them respond in a positive way," Rankin said. "Our defense really came up with some key plays to keep them at one run for the game."
At the plate, freshman
Ashley Arnold was three-for-three with two runs and a pair of RBI's. It was her second three-hit game of the year. Freshman
Bri Smith also tallied a multi-hit game to go along with two RBI's and a run scored.
"The bottom third of our lineup had six hits and four RBI's. That really helps in lengthening your lineup," Rankin said.
With a double in the second inning, freshman
Amari Ramsey extended her hitting-streak to 18 games and her on-base streak to 20.
JSU got on the board first with a run in its first at-bat. The Lady Tigers had runners on second and third with no outs when Dorsey limited the damage to just one run on a groundout.
The Lady Braves answered with six runs in the top of the second to take control. Senior
Mariah Ortiz led it off with a hit up the middle and moved to second after freshman
Malea Dickerson reached safely on an error on a sacrifice bunt. After a bunt single by sophomore
Alicia Hill loaded the bases, Arnold plated a pair with a two-RBI hit to right. An RBI grounder to third by Smith and a double to center by Ramsey scored two more. Alcorn also scored a pair in the inning on defensive miscues.
Alcorn added two more in the third to go up 8-1. It came after singles by Arnold and Smith, sandwiched around three errors in the frame.
The Lady Braves etched an insurance run in the sixth which put the eight-run mercy rule into effect. With a runner on third and one out, Ortiz flied a sacrifice to center as freshman
Desirea Lindsey was safe on a play at the plate.
Alcorn improved to 7-0 this season when scoring at least eight runs. The Lady Braves outscored the Lady Tigers 32-12 this weekend.
Symone Williams threw all six innings for JSU and took the loss. Nava Fisher went two-for-three at the plate.
The Lady Braves have taken five of the last six against the Lady Tigers dating back to last year.
Up next, Alcorn will head to Mississippi State for a 6 p.m. game Tuesday. The Lady Braves will be home next weekend when they host Alabama State in a three-game series beginning Friday at 3 p.m.
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