Softball | 5/8/2018 4:44:00 PM

Lady Braves Begin 2018 SWAC Championships against Southern

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The top-seeded Alcorn State University softball program from the SWAC East Division will open the 2018 SWAC Championships against fourth-seeded Southern from the West Division at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex.
 
Alcorn (14-33, 11-7 SWAC) won the SWAC East Division for the second straight year. The Lady Braves held the tiebreaker over Alabama A&M after sweeping the Bulldogs this season. Alcorn also took two out of three from preseason favorite Alabama State. It marked the fifth title in program history and the first in back-to-back years.
 
The Lady Braves have posted three consecutive winning seasons in conference for the first time in program history. They are 24-14 SWAC the last two seasons and 35-18 SWAC the last three seasons; both marks are the best in the SWAC East Division.
 
Senior first baseman Taylor Hughes was named the SWAC Hitter of the Year for the second straight season. The three-time All-Conference First-Team selection led Alcorn with a .350 batting average and .460 on-base percentage this season. She tallied a team-high 14 multi-hit games.
 
Hughes is the school's all-time leader in both hits (185) and doubles (34). She also ranks second all-time in school history in RBI's (107) and walks (70), third in runs scored (96) and 11th in triples (6).
 
Junior pitcher Paige Taylor earned SWAC Newcomer of the Year honors. She notched a 2-1 record in conference with a 3.25 ERA. She started six games and registered two complete-games. She walked just seven batters in 23.2 innings and did not give up a home run. Taylor fired a no-hitter against Rust College on March 22.
 
As a program, Alcorn has won SWAC Newcomer of the Year three seasons in a row and SWAC Hitter of the Year two consecutive seasons.
 
Senior outfielder Mariah Ortiz earned All-Conference First-Team honors and junior pitcher Winter Ridgeway was named to the All-Conference Second-Team.
 
Ortiz, now a two-time All-Conference honoree, batted for a .290 average and .452 slugging in conference. She racked up two doubles, a triple, a homer, 15 RBI's and 23 runs scored on the year.
 
Ridgeway picked up a trio of wins out of the bullpen for the Lady Braves and also earned two saves. She led the team with a 2.58 ERA in conference and held the opposition to a .217 batting average. Ridgeway made a team-high 10 appearances in league play and 26 overall on the year.
 
The Lady Braves outscored SWAC opponents 118-74 this season. In conference games only, freshman Amari Ramsey led Alcorn with a .390 batting average and .644 slugging.
 
On the year, Alcorn had three student-athletes hit above .300. Hughes led the way with a .350 average, while Ramsey batted .341 and junior Victoria Tyler .313. Tyler knocked in a team-high 30 RBI's.
 
The Lady Braves have mixed and matched their lineups all season and have used 36 different batting orders.
 
Southern ended the regular season 16-21 overall and 8-9 in conference. The Jags are led by All-Conference First-Team catcher Kiara Suttles and All-Conference Second-Team designated hitter Jazmine Dukes. Suttles hit for a .349 average with 10 homers this year, while Dukes batted for a .342 average with 25 hits in 24 games.
 
In the circle, Aubrion James has been the work-horse for Southern with a 10-10 record and 3.50 ERA in 120.0 innings. She's pitched more than half of the team's innings this year.
 
The Lady Braves seek redemption after falling to the Jags in the first round of the SWAC Championships last year 4-3. Though, Alcorn took two out of three from Southern on the road this season.
 
Alcorn's second round game will be Thursday at 6 p.m. with a win, or Thursday at 12 p.m. with a loss. The Lady Braves will play the winner/loser of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama State.

Click here to visit the SWAC Championship tournament central.
 
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