LORMAN, Miss. – With just two weeks left in the regular season, the Alcorn State University softball program will be playing for its third consecutive SWAC East Division title.
The Lady Braves are tied for the lead with Alabama A&M with 8-4 records, while Alabama State is a two back in the loss column at 8-6. The only games left on Alcorn's schedule are road trips at ASU and AAMU.
Regardless of how it plays out this season, the wins have piled up over the years for Alcorn. Since the arrival of
Victoria Tyler, a four-year letterwinner, the Lady Braves have posted a 43-22 SWAC record since 2016, the best in the SWAC East Division.
Tyler's years will end as the winningest four-year stretch in school history.
Though, the success wasn't inherited, it was built from nearly nothing. In the five seasons prior to Tyler's career, the Lady Braves held a combined 18-63 SWAC record including 0-14 the year before she came.
"I was really excited to be a part of the building process. The whole thing about the team being bad or having a losing record wasn't a big deal to me. I liked the fact that this was a program that was on a turnaround and I'd be a part of that," said Tyler, an infielder who's seen action at both first and third base in her career. "We started out as the underdog and came in as the team that nobody was really expecting much from. We beat Rutgers my freshman year and that was not expected at all, and the whole road has been a lot of fun."
Throw in right-hander
Paige Taylor, a four-time SWAC Pitcher of the Week winner in two years and on pace to have one of the best single seasons for a pitcher in school history, and the Lady Braves are approaching the top of the SWAC mountain.
Alcorn has tallied three consecutive winning seasons in conference for the first time in program history and is eyeing its fourth. The only thing left for Alcorn and its senior duo is to win a postseason championship.
"It would mean a lot if we won the SWAC Tournament. A college championship is something that I've always dreamed of. I won state championships in high school and it was an unimaginable feeling, so I can't imagine what it would be like to do it here. I'd love to finish on that note," Tyler said.
Tyler and Taylor shared the same Senior Day – a 5-4 victory over Jackson State – but their routes to Alcorn were vastly different. Tyler was an in-state recruit from Gulfport, Mississippi, while Taylor was an international JUCO transfer from Canada.
"These are two young ladies who have helped make our program better. The best thing about them is that they can take coaching. They can take you challenging them with some things that may not be easy to hear, but they respond respectfully and take on that challenge with max effort," said Alcorn head coach
Josef Rankin. "As a coach, you can't help but appreciate that because everyone can't or won't do that."
Tyler was originally committed to attend a JUCO out of high school. When she heard the news that Alcorn had a new coach from the coast, she came on a visit along with Brandon Barna from the baseball team. The two had been childhood friends.
Furthermore, Tyler already had ties to Alcorn as she had an aunt and uncle who attended.
"My official visit was my first time at Alcorn and I liked it a lot. I liked how it was very spaced out with a lot of open land and the campus was very nice," Tyler said.
On the field, it was nearly an immediate turnaround for the Lady Braves in 2016. The team started with a 3-2 record with wins over Kentucky State and Northern Colorado, and then posted a marquee victory over Rutgers. Alcorn finished with an 11-6 record in conference and won three games in the conference tournament.
Tyler's sophomore year provided one of the most memorable moments of her career when the team was at UL-Lafayette.
"I was on deck and these guys were talking so much trash from the stands, saying that I was going to strikeout like everyone before me. It was an intimidating place to play," Tyler said. "I got into the batter's box and hit a home run to give us a one-run lead and it was a really exciting moment."
The Lady Braves finished 2017 with a 13-5 record in conference which was the second-best winning percentage in school history.
Alcorn followed it up with an 11-7 mark in 2018, and Tyler turned in a breakout year at the plate. She started in 48 of 49 games and registered a .311 average and .467 slugging with 30 RBIs and 13 extra-base hits including three homers.
As a senior, she's currently hitting for a .270 average with a team-high .478 on-base percentage. Her 100th career hit came on Feb. 24 against Georgia Tech at the Mississippi State Tournament. She became just the 14th student-athlete in school history to reach the 100-hit milestone.
"We were warming up before the game and the umpires walked up and asked who was the player that was looking for their 100th hit? I didn't know that people were aware that I was one hit away, I thought it was such a small thing. He said they were going to stop the game when I get the hit so I can get the ball and give it to my family. I thought that was a nice gesture. When I got the hit, the umpire said he wasn't expecting it to be a home run, and I told him neither was I," Tyler said.
In the school record book, Tyler currently ranks seventh in RBIs with 75, and 12th in hits with 112. She's also approaching the top-10 list in doubles with 18.
"It's pretty cool seeing my name among the best players who've played here. Growing up, I never thought about being in a record book or being top-10 in anything. I've set so many goals for myself along the way, and it's very special to me to be see my name being mentioned," Tyler said.
Tyler is on pace to graduate this semester with a degree in Biology/Pre-Professional. Upon graduation, she plans to continue her education in Biology/Medical Science, followed by Physician Assistant (PA) School. Her goal is to work in a dermatology clinic with her own patients.
Unlike Tyler, her fellow senior Taylor was very unfamiliar with Mississippi life. Taylor, a native of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, had never heard of Alcorn until her second year of college at Marshalltown CC in Iowa when she was being recruited.
Furthermore, just a couple months prior to her freshman year, she was second-guessing whether she'd even be playing softball at all.
"When I was in high school, I actually signed and committed to a Division II school in Connecticut. Though, a couple months before I was supposed to go, I got cold feet and wasn't sure if I wanted to go to college in America. I decided I didn't want to play softball anymore and stayed at home," Taylor said. "However, after taking a couple months off I realized how much I missed it and that I really did want to play softball. My pitching coach from home happened to know the coach at the JUCO that I ended up with and they needed a pitcher. So, I missed my first semester of college, but then started in Iowa in January. I loved it, and it was the best decision I ever made."
Taylor become an all-time great at Marshalltown. She set the school record for wins and innings pitched in a season in 2017 with an 18-12 record and 22 complete games. She notched 188 strikeouts which ranked second all-time in program history, and led the Tigers to the Region XI Tournament. Taylor became a NJCAA Region XI All-Conference honoree.
"I really liked the idea of playing for a Division I program. I wasn't even sure if I was good enough to play at the Division I level so the fact that it was even an option for me was an amazing feeling," Taylor said. "I also had never been to the south before so it presented a new opportunity for me. I was excited to experience a new culture."
Taylor's softball achievements were just getting started. Last season at Alcorn, she was named the 2018 SWAC Newcomer of the Year after leading the team in ERA. Taylor did not allow a home run the entire season and fired a no-hitter against Rust College. She won her first of four career SWAC Pitcher of the Week honors on March 5, 2018.
This season, Taylor is putting together a huge year for the Lady Braves. She hoists a 9-7 overall record with a 3.27 ERA in 94.1 innings. In conference, she has a 2.56 ERA and a 6-1 record. In just two seasons, Taylor is up to 12 career which ranks ninth all-time in school history.
"It's nice to be recognized in that sort of way, but it's not something that I focus on. I want to do whatever I can to help the team," Taylor said.
When asked how she'd feel if the Lady Braves won the SWAC Championship, she said the feeling would be so unbelievable that she couldn't even put it into words.
"I'll always remember the friendships that I made and the relationships that I built with people while I was here. Those are the most important things. Ultimately, I won't remember all the individual wins and losses, or good days and bad days, but I'll always remember the fun times that I had with my teammates," Taylor said. "I'm really glad that I came here and how everything turned out."
Taylor is on pace to graduate in the spring with a degree in accounting. She plans to head back home and become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
"Not everyone can handle the struggles. Paige and Victoria have experienced that," Rankin said. "Let's be real. It isn't easy to play here especially as a female student-athlete. It's not a knock and I'm not looking to offend anyone, but that's just the reality. They are continuing to press. They have experienced those tough times on and off the field, yet they've made it. That's a life lesson! I wish them both the best in all that they put their hands to in the future and I appreciate them taking a chance on me and this program to come and be a part of what we are trying to do."
The Lady Braves will be in action Friday when they travel to Alabama State at 6 p.m. for the first of a three-game series. They'll return to Montgomery, Alabama on Wednesday, May 8 for the 2019 SWAC Championships.
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