McBride, Thompson Homer in Doubleheader Sweep

LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn's Rajayla McBride delivered an inside-the-park home run, while Paris Thompson registered her second home run of the campaign to power Alcorn Softball to a doubleheader sweep of Xavier University (La.) on Saturday afternoon at Alcorn Softball Complex in Lorman, Mississippi.
 
Alcorn took the opening game 8-0 in five innings, while the nightcap was a10-2 decision for the Braves in five innings as well. For the Braves, it was the team's second inside-the-park homer of the season, with Yahnya Acevedo completing the task in the opening weekend as part of the River City Classic.
 
ALCORN 8, XAVIER (LA.) 0
Freshman Rajayla McBride hit an inside-the-park home run in the first inning and Chiara Olison threw a complete-game shutout as Alcorn defeated Xavier (La.) 8-0 in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Alcorn Softball Complex in Lorman, Mississippi.
 
McBride's two-run, inside-the-park homer to right field scored Olivia Miller, who had doubled to lead off the Alcorn first, and set the tone for a dominant afternoon by the Braves. McBride finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and added a double in the fifth inning.
 
Alcorn (8-8) blew the game open in the second inning, scoring three runs on a pair of Gold Nuggets errors.
 
Olison reached and stole second, then advanced to third on an error by Micah Williams at third base. Pinch runner Sanai Salvant stole third and scored on the play. Karmen Bernard, Alcorn's second baseman, followed with a bunt single that scored Olison after pitcher McKayla Mandina committed an error on the play, and Miller later drove in Bernard with her hard-hit single past the glove of Williams at third.
 
The Braves led 5-0 after three innings in the books.
 
The Braves added a run in the fourth on an Adriyana Ruffin RBI double and plated two more in the fifth when Mariah  Morgan's sacrifice fly scored two runs, aided by a catcher's error from Xavier's Madelynn Hernandez that allowed an unearned run to score to make it 8-0.
 
Olison was dominant in the circle, scattering six hits over five innings while striking out four and walking none to earn her sixth win of the season against four losses.
 
Xavier (3-10) managed six hits, but left six runners on base and committed three errors that proved costly. The Gold Nuggets' Mandina took the loss, falling to 0-2 after allowing six runs – four earned, on seven hits in 3.2 innings in the circle.
 
Offensively, Bernard finished 2-for-2 at the dish for the Purple and Gold, adding two runs and knocking in one. Joining her with multiple hits were Miller and McBride, respectfully.
 
ALCORN 10, XAVIER (LA.) 2
Junior first baseman Paris Thompson homered for the second time on the year and drove in five runs altogether as Alcorn completed a Saturday doubleheader sweep of Xavier (La.) with a 10-2 victory in five innings at Alcorn Softball Complex in Lorman, Mississippi.
 
Thompson, a junior from Kokomo, Mississippi, drove out the two-run blast to left field in the second inning giving Alcorn a lead it would never relinquish. The Braves would crack the game wide open with a four-run third and fourth innings to invoke the run rule and improve to 9-8 on the season.
 
Braves starting pitcher Olivia Miller was brilliant in the circle, tossing a complete-game five-inning victory to improve to 2-1. Miller scattered just one hit while striking out four, though she issued four wild pitches. She got plenty of help from her defense and a productive Alcorn offense that finished with nine hits.
 
Left fielder Yahnya Acevedo and centerfielder Rajayla McBride were catalysts at the top of the order, each reaching base multiple times. Acevedo finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored and a stolen base, while McBride went 2-for-3 and scored twice. Mariah Morgan added a hit and two stolen bases out of the five-hole.
 
The Braves' third inning was fueled in part by Xavier miscues.
 
After McBride reached and Acevedo got on via an error, a wild pitch and a catcher's error allowed a run to score before Thompson singled home two more. Jamyiyah Cotten then tripled for the first time all season to left center to cap the four-run frame.
 
Alcorn would lead it 6-1 after three complete.
 
The Purple and Gold kept the pressure on in the fourth, with Thompson grounding out for an RBI and Cotten adding another run batted in on a sacrifice bunt to push the lead to 10-2. Cotten finished with three RBIs in the contest.
 
Xavier (3-11) managed just one hit – that a single by Amaya Williams in the second inning. Williams scored the team's first run on a wild pitch and later scored again in the fourth on another wild pitch, both from Alcorn starter Miller in the circle, accounting for both Gold Nuggets tallies. Xavier starting hurler Bella Rivera took the loss, falling to 1-3 after allowing six runs on five hits over 2.2 innings.
 
Up Next
Alcorn heads back on the road to face Southern Miss for a midweek non-conference affair on Tuesday, March 3, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Game time is slated for 6 p.m.
 
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