GULFPORT, Miss. – The Lady Braves went on a solid run in the 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference Softball Championship Tournament to close the season. After falling to Alabama State in the opening round, Alcorn successfully downed Florida A&M to keep its SWAC Championship dreams alive.
Alcorn 6, Alabama State 5 (10 innings)
On the third day of the tourney, the Lady Braves doubled back to Alabama State in the elimination bracket after the Hornets lost 4-0 to Grambling on Wednesday. It was a hard-fought game as the two teams spared through 10 innings, the longest game of the tournament and Alcorn's longest game of the season.
The Lady Braves got an early lead on Alabama State with a 5-0 advantage through four frames. An offensive-heavy bottom of the fifth allowed the Hornets to cut Alcorn's lead to 5-4.
The score would remain 5-4 until Alabama State tied the game at 5 in the bottom of the seventh inning to force the extra innings.
Both teams saw little action in the eighth inning, but Alcorn was able to connect for a hit in the top of the ninth, while the Hornets had two at the bottom. Neither team was able to score, moving the contest into 10 innings.
Now in the tenth, the tournament rules allowed for the international tiebreaker, and a runner was placed on the second for the Lady Braves at the top of the frame.
With Mikeria Howard on second base, Mycah Hall singled down the first base line to move Howard to third. Howard attempted to score on a fielder's choice but was out at home, and Hall advanced to third.
With the game on the line and two outs, Kennedy Terry singled to the shortstop to score Hall and give the Lady Braves the 6-5 lead.
In the bottom of the frame, a pop-up and a double play ended the game and season for Alabama State, and Alcorn remained alive in the tournament.
Alcorn 1, Bethune-Cookman 0
After the Lady Braves won the rematch against Alabama State, their next opponent was Bethune-Cookman later that evening. With lightning and storms in the area, the contest was halted before the start of the third inning and resumed on Friday.
Before the lightning delay, Alcorn scored one run at the top of the second. Alonah Felton reached base on a fielder's choice and advanced to third when Kiri Parker doubled down the left-field line. She then scored the winning and the contest's only run on a wild pitch.
Alcorn 5, Grambling 6
Alcorn found itself in another slugger of a game Friday afternoon, battling through eight innings with Grambling in the tournament's semifinal round.
The Lady Braves were quick to score in the opening frame, but three runs in the bottom of the inning would see Alcorn trail GSU 3-1.
Grambling State added a fourth run in the second, and the score would remain 4-1 until the top of the fifth.
The Lady Braves rallied in the fifth, scoring three runs on three hits to tie the contest at four. Alcorn added a fifth run in the sixth to take its first lead since the opening frame.
The team was almost able to close the contest in seven with the win, but two walks and a wild pitch put the Lady Braves pitching staff in a precarious position. Alcorn had shuffled through three pitchers at that point in the game, and the only other arm in the bullpen was starting pitcher Alexa Veamoi. The senior pitcher did her best to stop the bleeding, but the Lady Tigers scored on another wild pitch to take the game into the eighth frame.
Alcorn could not score in the new inning, but a single to right field would score a run for Grambling, punching a 6-5 ticket for the Lady Tigers to the championship game.
The Lady Braves close the 2023 season 19-30 overall and 11-13 in the SWAC.
