Alcorn Falters in Series Opener to Panthers

LORMAN, Miss. – Prairie View A&M scored in every inning and rode a dominant pitching performance from Kayla Adams to defeat homestanding Alcorn 12-0 in five innings Friday afternoon at Alcorn Softball Complex in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Softball series opening contest between the two teams in Lorman, Mississippi.
 
Prairie View (12-11, 4-0 SWAC) opened the game with three quick runs off Alcorn starting pitcher Chiara Olison.
 
Designated player Kayla Zaid drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a wild pitch before Jade Uresti laid down a bunt single. Mia Nunez and Morgan Smith both lifted sacrifice flies to make it 2-0, and Ashlee Elizarraras laced a run-scoring double to right center to cap the inning.
 
Nunez delivered the biggest blow of the afternoon in the second inning, ripping a two-run triple to left center off Braves relief pitcher Olivia Miller to push the lead to 5-0 for the visitors. Smith added a run-scoring groundout to make it 6-0.
 
Prairie View A&M's Nunez added her third RBI on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, and Smith later singled home another run to make it 8-0 through three frames. Nunez finished with four RBIs on the day, going 1-for-1 with three sacrifice flies.
 
Third baseman Kendall McCants tripled in the fourth and scored on a Martiza Martinez groundout to extend the advantage to 9-0. Prairie View added three insurance runs in the fifth capped by a two-run single from pinch hitter Za'Riya Bell-Morris, who drove home Caidence Martin and Reagan Green to invoke the run rule.
 
Smith went 1-for-2 with three RBIs and a stolen base. Elizarraras added an RBI double, and Bell-Morris drove in two with her pinch-hit single.
 
Alcorn (9-12, 0-2 SWAC) managed just two hits in the contest – singles by Olivia Miller and Yahnya Acevedo, respectfully.
 
Kayla Adams (7-4) was strong throughout in the complete-game, two-hit shutout performance in the pitcher's circle for the Panthers. She finished with a pair of strikeouts and just one walk issued as well.
 
The loss went to Olison (6-7), as she worked just one inning, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits hits and two walks. Miller completed the final four frames in the circle for the Braves, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits, five walks and a strikeout.
 
The two teams meet for game two of the three-game series as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, March 14. The first game is set to start at 1 p.m.
 
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