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Championship Central
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – To open the 2019 SWAC Championships, the Alcorn State University softball program will take on Prairie View A&M at 12 p.m. Wednesday at the Barbara Williams Complex.
The Lady Braves (13-22, 9-9 SWAC) are the No. 3 seed from the East Division, while the Lady Panthers (27-15, 15-3 SWAC) are the No. 2 seed from the West Division.
"We are excited to be back in the tournament. Sometimes, you can really take for granted the opportunity to be apart of it. It's not easy. No matter how often you go, it's just not easy," said Alcorn head coach
Josef Rankin.
Senior
Paige Taylor leads the Alcorn pitching staff and was a three-time SWAC Pitcher of the Week winner this year. She posted a 6-3 record and 2.68 ERA in conference with five complete games in nine starts. Taylor struck out 33 batters and walked just eight in 60.0 innings. Taylor was the 2018 SWAC Newcomer of the Year winner.
At the plate, junior McKinney hit for a .317 average on the year and .365 in conference. She started all 18 conference games in center field with 23 hits in 63 at-bats and a .403 on-base percentage. McKinney went on a seven-game hitting-streak and 12-game on-base streak this season, which were both team-longs. She registered eight multi-hit games including a pair of four-hit outings.
In conference play, sophomore
Amari Ramsey led the Lady Braves in batting average (.367) and slugging percentage (.667). She knocked 22 hits in 60 at-bats including eight doubles, two triples and a pair of homers. It went along with team-highs of 16 runs scored and 16 RBI's. She started all 18 games at third base.
The Lady Braves had four hitters batting above .300 in conference. In addition to Ramsey and McKinney, freshman
Brooke Roach tallied a .333 mark, and sophomore
Desirea Lindsey hit .304. Roach missed the first half of the season due to injury, but returned and cranked two homers in her first weekend back against Grambling State.
As a team, the Lady Braves won five SWAC weekly awards this year. In addition to Taylor's trio, Ramsey and junior
Brittney Triplett each won Hitter of the Week.
Alcorn went on an eight-game winning-streak earlier this season, which was its longest streak since 1997. It included sweeps over Grambling State and Mississippi Valley State.
Alcorn has outscored the opposition 22-10 in the seventh inning this year.
"If we can find a way to stay positive, compete and do it with great effort, we should be able to give ourselves a chance to win. But it really boils down to our response when we experience some adversity. Will we hang our heads or stop cheering or spew negativity, or will we compete, support, stay positive and fight? That's going to be the key – can we handle adversity the right way? We ended the regular season with some tough losses, but the reality is our opponent is competing too! Find a way to fight! Find a way to win instead of hoping not to lose," Rankin said.
In the career record book, junior
Ambria Dorsey ranks sixth in strikeouts (137), eighth in innings pitched (228.0) and ninth in starts (36). Fellow pitcher Taylor is tied for fourth all-time in shutouts (4) and ninth in wins (12) in just two seasons. Hitting-wise, senior
Victoria Tyler is sixth in RBIs (77), eighth in doubles (22) and 11th in hits (116). Ramsey sits in eighth in homers (9).
The Lady Braves will expect to knock off one of the toughest pitchers in the league, PVAMU's Crystal Castillo - assuming she starts. She led the SWAC in wins with a 12-4 record and also picked up four saves. Castillo held opponents to a .204 batting average and led the conference with 90 strikeouts, posting a 2.62 ERA.
At the plate, the Lady Panthers are led by first baseman Laurisa Hernandez and second baseman Destinee Williams – both started all 42 games. Hernandez hit for a .342 average and .607 slugging with nine homers, while Williams posted a team-high .372 average and .566 slugging with six homers.
"We've got to work hard today at practice and play our best tomorrow. I'm pretty sure we will face the Pitcher of the Year, but that's what you want as a competitor. You want to face the best in the conference and you also want to face a team that beat you during the regular season," Rankin said.
The last time Alcorn played Prairie View A&M in the SWAC Tournament was in the first round in 2016 when the Lady Braves won 3-1.
Alcorn second baseman
Eva Scott did not travel with the team. She's back home in Burleson, Texas at the side of her mother who is recovering from a serious illness.
"We are continuing to pray for
Eva Scott and her family. Whether she can join us this week or not, we want her to know that we are thinking about her and her family, and I pray her mom has a speedy recovery," Rankin said.
The Lady Braves will play the winner or loser of No. 1 Alabama A&M from the East Division and No. 4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff from the West Division in their second game. Alcorn will play at 6 p.m. Thursday with a win or 12 p.m. Thursday with a loss. All of Alcorn's games in the tournament can be heard live on 91.7 FM or
wprl.org with Charles Edmond on the call.
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