MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama A&M (8-17, 3-7 SWAC) split a pair of games with rival Alabama State (15-18, 7-4 SWAC), winning the opener 12-7 and falling 9-1 in the nightcap, in an NCAA Division I softball doubleheader on Friday, April 1.
 
GAME 1: Alabama A&M 12, Alabama State 7
A leadoff single, steal and walk set the stage early for the Bulldogs as they then took a 1-0 lead on a throwing error before former Hornet and junior second baseman Venice Sanders (Birmingham, Ala.) lit into her old team with a two-RBI double to left center for a three-run advantage. Junior catcher Brooklyn Wallace (Hartselle, Ala.) then followed with a single up the middle to make it 4-0.
 
It would not stay that way, however, as ASU carved the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning with a run on a fielder's choice and another on a sacrifice fly. Offense would continue to be the order of the day in the second as senior first baseman Rachael McKinney (Birmingham, Ala.) delivered an RBI single and Sanders cranked a three-run blast over the centerfield fence to extend to an 8-2 advantage.
 
The Hornets would battle back once again, this time with a two-RBI single by Kindall Deramus, who proceeded to advance to second on the play and then stole third. With runners on second and third, Destinee Dixon drove home both with a single, slicing the margin to 8-6 through two frames.
 
With two outs in the third, Gross would spark A&M once again, this time with a double to left. Freshman outfielder Tatianna Roman (Cypress, Calif.) added a single to make it first and third before being thrown out at second and allowing Gross to come home and make it 9-6.
 
The Bulldogs would then hold ASU to just two hits over the next three innings before their bats woke up in the seventh. Deramus managed a one out double to left, followed by a single by Jazmine Dodd who ended up on second on the throw to third. From there Alex Preston lofted a sac fly to right to cut it to two runs.
 
Any hopes of a comeback would quickly be dashed in the top of the seventh, however, as Alabama A&M worked some two-out magic. A walk and a single put two runners on and sophomore outfielder Iyanna Canada (Oakman, Ala.) brought home one with a single up the middle. Gross then reached on an error to score freshman outfielder Da'Nijah Wade (Columbia, Tenn.). They would then push across Canada on a force out to extend to a 12-7 lead.
 
That five-run margin would prove to be insurmountable as the Hornets managed just a pair of groundouts and a caught looking to seal the A&M victory.
 
Dixon led the way for ASU, going 1-for-3 with three RBIs while Dodd finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two steals and a pair of runs. Not far behind them was Deramus with a 4-for-4 day that included a double, three runs and two steals. Preston had the only other RBI on a sac fly. Bailey Greenlee started and went just 1.2 innings, surrendering six earned runs to fall to 9-9.
 
Sanders anchored the Bulldogs' offense as she dominated her old team, going 2-for-4 with a double, homerun, five RBIs and a pair of runs while Gross was 2-for-5 with a pair of runs and two steals. Roman went 3-for-4 with an RBI, walk and pair of runs and McKinney was 2-for-4, notching a run and an RBI. Wallace and Canada would deliver the other RBIs on the day.
 
In the circle, freshman pitcher Paige Scott (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada) started and went two innings, allowing six runs, before sophomore pitcher Esperanza Coe (Beaumont, Calif.) extinguished any offense for ASU. She would throw five innings of relief, surrendering just four hits and one run to lock down the win and move to 3-6.
 
NOTES
The win snapped a six-game losing streak that dated back to February 20, 2021.
 
GAME 2: Alabama State 9, Alabama A&M 1
Alabama A&M would get right back on the scoreboard at the start of Game 2 but do it in a far different way. Gross and Roman reached on back-to-back errors to start things off before ASU managed a strikeout, only to allow both to advance a base on a wild pitch. That set things up for McKinney, who put a ball to the shortstop to bring home Gross from third for a 1-0 advantage before a groundout ended any further threat.
 
That, however, would be all the offense they would muster as they managed just two hits over the next four innings. In that time the Hornets used a Deramus grounder to tie it and a single by Dixon to take the lead in the bottom of the third.
 
Alabama State added to their advantage two innings later as Dodd notched a two-RBI single following a one-out hit and failed fielder's choice that had put runners on second and third. An out later Preston doubled to the right centerfield gap to make it 5-1 before a grounder ended the threat.
 
The Bulldogs would mount a threat of their own in the top of the sixth as Roman led off with a double and freshman outfielder Allyson Riches (San Diego, Calif.) singled to left to put runners on first and third.
 
With the makings of an inning firmly in place, an attempt to steal both second and home resulted in both runners being thrown out, effectively squelching the rally – something ASU would make a reality on a pop fly following a McKinney single two batters later.
 
A&M would not see the seventh, however, as the Hornets pounded out four runs on two hits – all with two outs in the home half of the frame. They would score the first two of those runs on an error and Dixon singled through the right side for the other two to bring about the eight-run mercy rule and lock up the 9-1 victory.
 
Deramus went 1-for-4 with three RBIs, two steals and a pair of runs to lead ASU with Dodd not far behind at 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, two RBIs and three runs. Dixon went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Jaeda Gardner finished 2-for-3 with three runs and two steals. Ashley Pye went the distance in the circle, allowing just one unearned run and striking out two to move to 2-3.
 
McKinney was the sole source of run production in the nightcap as she went 1-for-3 with an RBI and Roman was 2-for-3 with a double. Senior pitcher Alyssa Lopez (San Leandro, Calif.) threw 5.2 innings, allowing nine runs but just three earned and struck out four to suffer the loss and fall to 2-4.
 
The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow, Saturday, April 2 for the series finale against the Hornets. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at the Barbara Williams Softball Complex in Montgomery, Alabama.