GULFPORT, Miss. – No. 3E Alabama A&M (11-19, 8-10 SWAC) rallied late but could not overcome a four-run deficit as they fell to No. 1E Jackson State (16-22, 12-6 SWAC) by a 4-2 score in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament and an NCAA Division I softball game on Wednesday, May 12.
As they had in their opener, the Bulldogs threatened in the opening inning, this time with a pair of singles sandwiched around a sacrifice bunt that put runners on first and third with one out. A steal by sophomore shortstop
Taylor Woods (Decatur, Ala.) then put both runners in scoring position before JSU notched a strikeout and a groundout to get out of the jam unscathed.
In the home half of the inning Monica Serrano walked with one out, stole second on a strikeout and then came around to score on a single by Isabel Gusman for a 1-0 lead.
Outside of a Tigers single, the bats would go quiet until the bottom of the third when Serrano laced a one out triple to right and Alexis Arredondo walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gusman would once again factor in the scoring, this time with a sac fly to center to double the lead, which was followed by a fielding error that allowed JSU to plate another runner for a 3-0 lead after three.
A two-out rally in the home half of the fourth would then add a run as Samiah Huckabee walked, stole second and scored on a single through the right side by Kayla Owens. That 4-0 lead would hold up until the top of the sixth when A&M woke up the bats.
In that frame the Bulldogs used a two-out rally of their own as Woods and freshman pitcher
Esperanza Coe (Beaumont, Calif.) delivered back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third. Senior catcher
Haleigh Winter (Huntsville, Ala.) then came through as she legged out an infield single to drive home woods and cut the deficit to 4-1.
Freshman catcher
Imani Mathis (Elk Grove, Calif.) pinch ran for Coe at second and proceeded to swipe third and score when freshman outfielder
Brianna Winchester (Lavaca, Ark.) dropped a bunt single in front of third base to make it 4-2. That would be as far as that offensive outburst would take them, however, as a ball up the middle was snagged for a fielder's choice to get out of the inning.
Coe would set JSU down in order in the sixth and give A&M a chance to complete the comeback in the top of the seventh. They would open that stanza with a hard hit ball to the right side, only to see it grabbed by the second baseman for the first out. The Tigers would then induce a pair of groundouts, one to third and one to short, to close out the narrow two-run victory.
Winter led the way for A&M with a 2-for-3 day that included an RBI while Woods was 2-for-3 with a stolen base and run scored. Winchester went 1-for-3 and added the other RBI while Mathis picked up a steal late. Coe pitched all six innings, allowing four runs (three earned) and struck out six to close her freshman season at 9-9.
Serrano was 2-for-2 with a triple, walk, steal and a pair of runs scored to power Jackson State while Gusman finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Owens chipped in with the other RBI to round out the offense and Macie Kuppenbender went all seven in the circle, scattering seven hits and allowing just two runs to move to 5-8 on the year.
Alabama A&M closes out the season at 11-19 overall and as the No. 3 seed in the East Division following an 8-10 record in SWAC play.
