VICKSBURG, Miss. – Alabama A&M (1-5, 0-0 SWAC) dropped a 6-5 nailbiter to Alcorn State (6-2, 0-0 SWAC) and fell 9-1 in their first ever meeting with neighboring North Alabama (5-2, 0-0 ASUN) in a pair of NCAA Division I softball games at the River City Classic on Friday, February 18.
 
GAME 1: Alcorn State 6, Alabama A&M 5
The Bulldogs would jump out ahead early as junior catcher Brooklyn Wallace (Hartselle, Ala.) brought home sophomore outfielder Lauryn Gross (Huntsville, Ala.) when she reached on an error in the top of the first. She promptly stole second and then made it second and third when junior infielder Venice Sanders (Birmingham, Ala.) reached on an error.
 
Sanders then headed towards second and Wallace sprinted towards home, notching the steal on the throw through to go up 2-0 before a fly out ended the inning.
 
The Braves would bounce back in their half of the inning as they loaded the bases with one out before A&M cut a run off at the plate on a fielders choice from third. They would not be so fortunate with the next batter, however, as Genise Wells doubled home two to tie it at 2-2 before a walk and a fly ball got the Bulldogs out of the inning.
 
Over the next two innings the teams would combine for just three hits before Alabama A&M constructed an inning as they eventually got runners on second and third with two outs. Freshman outfielder Da'Nijah Wade (Columbia, Tenn.) paid it off with a two-RBI double to right center, putting the Bulldogs back ahead 4-2.
 
Both teams would go down 1-2-3 the following inning before Alcorn's Amari Ramsey laced a one-out triple to left center to score two and tie it once again, this time at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth. Undaunted, A&M came right back in the their half of the sixth, retaking the lead on a passed ball.
 
They would hold that lead through the bottom half of the inning but could not add to it as they went down in order in the seventh. In the home half Tyesha Cole led off with an infield single and stole second to put a runner in scoring position. She wouldn't be there long, however, as Ramsey doubled her home and then, two batters later, came home herself with the winning run, 6-5, on a nubber by Kiri Parker right in front of the plate.
 
Ramsey led the Braves with three RBIs as part of a 2-for-4 day with the winning run while Wells was 1-for-4 but with two key RBIs. Parker added another RBI and Cole finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. In addition to her exploit at the plate, Parker went the distance in the circle, striking out four to improve to 3-0.
 
Wade led Alabama A&M with a pair of RBIs and a steal while Gross was 2-for-4 with a run and a pair of steals. Wallace added two steals, an RBI and a run and freshman Esperanza Coe (Beaumont, Calif.) finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate with a run and a steal. In the circle, the latter threw 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs to suffer the loss and fall to 1-3 on the year.

GAME 2: North Alabama 9, Alabama A&M 1
In the first meeting between the programs, the Lions would deliver a steady offensive push over the first three innings, putting up one, two and three runs, respectively.
 
They would begin to build that 6-0 lead with a run on a passed ball in the first before Haven Kirby reached on a fielder's choice in the second to bring home a second run. She would then score on a bunt single by Lexie Harper after stealing third the play before.
 
Up 3-0, they would double their lead in the third as they produced three hits and took advantage of an error that brought home Sidney Bevis following her leadoff triple. They would then load the bases with a single by Harley Stokes, setting the stage for Brooke Burback to single home two more runs before A&M cut off any other runs with a fly out to end the inning.
 
The Bulldogs would get on the board in the fourth as Coe and Wallace opened with back-to-back singles before senior first baseman Rachael McKinney (Birmingham, Ala.) followed with a third to cut it to 6-1. It would not be a sustained rally, however, as things went awry following a sacrifice bunt as A&M attempted to score on a foul popup and was thrown out at the plate to end the frame.
 
Having seen signs of the Alabama A&M offense, UNA fired theirs back up with an RBI single from Krysten Darrough. She would then come around to score on a wild pitch two batters later to make it 8-1. The Lions would then tack on one more in the sixth as Mary G. Kilpatrick's groundout sent the score to the eventual final margin of 9-1. They would lock that in after staving off a rally that saw the Bulldogs put runners on first and second.
 
Burback led North Alabama with two RBIs and Harper went 3-for-4 with a run and RBI while Bevis was 2-for-3 with a run and a triple. Sophie Golliver started and threw three scoreless innings, striking out four to move to 2-0.
 
McKinney delivered A&M's lone run and went 1-for-3 while Gross walked twice, was 1-for-1 and swiped a pair of bags. In the circle freshman Paige Scott (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada) started and threw three innings to fall to 0-2 on the year. Junior pitcher Alyssa Lopez (San Leandro, Calif.) added three innings of her own, allowing one earned run and striking out two in relief.
 
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow when they take on Alcorn and North Alabama again, this time at 12 and 5 p.m., respectively, on the final day of the 2022 River City Classic.