The Jackson State University softball team traded wins with Alabama A&M here at the JSU Softball Field on Saturday but won the three-game weekend series 2-to-1.
Following Friday's 6-3 victory over the visiting Lady Bulldogs, JSU lost Saturday's first game 9-4 before winning the nightcap contest 6-5, scoring all six runs in the first inning. The Lady Tigers now hold records of 21-23 overall and 12-9 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Eastern Division.
Saturday's Game 1: AAMU 9, JSU 4
Alabama A&M scored three runs in the top of the first inning, a margin which increased to 6-0 before the Lady Tigers got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning when catcher
Isabel Gusman blasted a solo home run over the left field wall, cutting AAMU's lead to 6-1.
After the Lady Bulldogs added a run in the top of the fifth, JSU answered with their second run of the game in the bottom of the inning.
Samiyyah Huckabee tripled to center field and scored off a Mari Stephens single, narrowing their margin to 6-2.
AAMU again responded in the top of the next inning, scoring two runs and taking a 9-2 lead. JSU scored the game's final two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Monica Serrano singled and advanced on a JSU balk. She later scored on a Stephens single. Stephens then scored off a
Zoey Keyes single.
JSU got multiple hits in the game from both Stephens (2-for-3, 2 RBI) and Huckabee (2-for-3).
Macie Kuppenbender went the distance on the mound, falling to 5-7 on the season.
Saturday's Game 2: JSU 6, AAMU 5
It didn't take long for the Lady Tigers to show how eager they were to win the series against AAMU. The team left no doubt at all after scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning and taking a commanding 6-1 lead.
In that pivotal opening inning,
Lauren Stewart as well as Gusman,
Isis Taylor, Serrano,
Rachel Barker and
Alexis Arredondo all reached paydirt as the Lady Tigers got five of their nine hits in that inning alone. All but Barker had reached base on singles.
Although JSU didn't score another run after the first inning, their game-opening heroics withstood AAMU's four-run attempted comeback in the final two innings.
JSU's
Leah Hopson (1-3) went the distance for the Lady Tigers, registering three strikeouts while allowing seven hits and four earned runs. She was supported by the multiple-hit performances of Gusman, who went 2-for-3 with one run scored, and Huckabee, who went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
Up Next:
The Lady Tigers will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. next Friday to begin a three-game weekend series against SWAC Eastern Division foe Bethune-Cookman. The games are slated to start at 1 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
