VICKSBURG, Miss. –  The Alcorn State University softball program had not step foot on the diamond for a game since March 11, 2020 and it showed as Coach Rankin's crew lost to Tennessee State (10-5) and Tuskegee (9-1).
The Lady Braves (0-2, 0-0 SWAC) were hindered by five fielding errors which plated four unearned runs against TSU, turning a manageable one-run deficit into a much more difficult five-run hole.
Kiri Parker shone brightly in relief allowing zero earned runs (two unearned) over four solid innings of work and punching out one Tiger.
Chloey Morgan and
Amari Ramsey were the lone ladies in Purple and Gold to log multiple hits, picking up two apiece with both smacking doubles and the former drawing a walk plus driving in two RBIs.
Ashely Arnold and
Desirea Lindsey contributed the remaining two RBIs in the scorebook while Arnold and
Brittney Triplett picked up one hit each. Â
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Game 1: Tennessee State 10, Alcorn 5
The beginning of the ballgame went sour quickly as Tennessee State raced out to a 5-0 upper-hand before the Lady Braves could crack the run column with one in the bottom of the second.
The score remained stagnant until the fourth when things began to snowball as back-to-back RBI triples in the three-run fourth broke it open for the Tigers, 8-1.
TSU's lead would balloon to 10-1 heading into the Lady Braves half of the fifth.
The tournament hosts did show a spark of life in that fifth, pushing across four runs but that was where the scoring ended for both squads.
Lauren Powell (1-0) got the complete game victory for the Tigers, seceding six hits and mowing down six Lady Braves.
Ambria Dorsey (0-1) wore the loss for Alcorn, giving up eight runs (six earned) in just three innings on the bump.
With the win, Tennessee State took the lead in the brief all-time series history, staking a 2-1 advantage.
Game 2: Tuskegee 9, Alcorn 1
The game was the first meeting between the two schools.
The Purple and Gold will get a chance to redeem themselves tomorrow, getting another crack at both Tennessee State (5:45 p.m.) and Tuskegee (1:15 p.m.) to go along with a third game versus Spring Hill at 3:30 p.m.
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#FearTheBrave
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