PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – A display of power seen only a handful of times over the last seven years fueled Alabama A&M's (6-8, 3-1 SWAC) 9-4 victory in the series opener at Prairie View A&M (2-8, 2-2 SWAC) in an NCAA Division I softball game on Friday, March 25.
 
Any thoughts of a pitcher's duel would be erased right away as Bulldogs senior outfielder Ariel McAtee (Smyrna, Tenn.) took advantage of an error on the catcher to reach base to start things off. She then advanced a base on each of the next two outs before coming home on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead.
 
The home half of the inning would see a one out walk followed by an Alyssa Garcia two-run blast to put PVAMU up 2-1. That would be a lead they would not add to as freshman pitcher Esperanza Coe (Beaumont, Calif.) then induced a pop up with runners on first and second to get out of the inning.
 
Neither club would muster much offense over the next two innings, something that would change dramatically in the top of the fourth. With runners on first and second with two outs, senior catcher Haleigh Winter (Huntsville, Ala.) stepped to the plate – and right into a pitch that she belted over the outfield fence for a three-run homerun and a 4-2 A&M lead.
 
The Panthers would go down in order in the bottom of the inning, sending the Bulldogs offense right back out there. A leadoff double by junior first baseman Olivia Simon (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) put the pressure right back on Prairie View, pressure that would build to a crescendo with two outs.
 
At that point, sophomore third baseman Taylor Woods (Decatur, Ala.) stepped into the box and promptly drilled a shot over the wall for a two-run homerun that extended the lead to 6-2. Much like the previous inning, PVAMU would not be able to break through as they stranded a leadoff double.
 
Alabama A&M would have no such difficulties, however, as Winter walked to lead off the next inning and was pinch run for by freshman Aleigha Harrison (Fort Smith, Ark.). She wouldn't be on the bases long, however, as McAtee laced a triple to left and then came home herself on a Simon single to make it 8-2. Even a double play couldn't slow the offense down as Coe jacked one to left for a solo shot to push to a seven run lead and buoy her own effort.
 
The Panthers were not quite done though as Garcia singled to leadoff the inning and, following a flyout, Kimberly Hernandez ripped a two-run shot to cut it to 9-4. They would come no closer, however, as Coe ended any hope of a comeback as she got a strikeout and a groundout with runners on first and second to end it.
 
Simon went 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run to lead the Bulldogs while Winter was 1-for-2 with a homerun, three RBIs and a walk. McAtee had an RBI triple and a pair of runs scored and Woods powered a homerun to finish with two RBIs. Coe rounded out the top offensive performances with a longball of her own and went the distance in the circle, allowing four earned runs and striking out four to move to 5-2 on the year.
 
Garcia powered the offense for the Panthers with a 2-for-4 day that included a homerun and a pair of RBIs while Hernandez was 1-for-1 with a homer and two RBIs. Mya Hall started and went four innings, surrendering three earned runs against six strikeouts to fall to 0-3.
 
The Bulldogs are back in action tomorrow for the doubleheader portion of the series against PVAMU. That twin bill begins at 12 p.m.
 
NOTES
The three homeruns were one short of the most the program has had since 2013, that being four homeruns against South Carolina State on March 2 of that year … the most recent three-homer game came on February 26, 2019 against Tuskegee.