Lady Hornets’ comeback dooms Southern 7-6 in SWAC softball tourney
IRONDALE, Ala. (bamastatesports.com) – Earlier this week at a team dinner, senior outfielder Jenna Mae Thorne reminisced about how she would often just miss on hitting a home run with hits that caromed off the outfield fences during her junior college playing days at Sierra College.
On day two of the SWAC Tournament, Thorne had just a touch more power in her swing to crack two home runs—including a walk-off solo blast in the extra innings— to lift the Alabama State softball team to a 7-6 victory in nine innings over Southern on Thursday.
The victory places the Lady Hornets (26-25) in a collision course with the West’s No. 1 seed Texas Southern (26-16), who took care of Alcorn State 9-1 in five innings earlier in the day.
ASU and TSU met in last year’s tournament twice including the championship.
However, this is the first meeting between the teams in 2016.
Thorne punctuated her day by batting 3-for-4 with three runs scored, four RBI and nearly pulled out a terrific double play on a catch in left field where she sprang up to make a catch and then nearly gunned down a runner trying to score at home plate.
Alabama State also staged a dramatic rally in the game by putting together a four-run seventh inning to extend it into extras.
With two outs, Charlene Castro connected for a game-tying RBI single that scored Thorne.
Preceding that play, Brittney Wilson, Laura Aguilar each had hits before a huge RBI double by Valerie Centeno and a two-run single by Thorne.
In the circle, Maddie Phelps went five innings and allowed five runs (only three were earned) and struck out seven.
Coming on in relief, Melissa Christmann (8-10) kept the Jaguars in check by only allowing one run on five hits in four innings of work.
Up next
Alabama State will play Texas Southern (26-16) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. on field one at the Shea Brothers Softball Complex in day three action of the SWAC Tournament.
The teams did not meet during the 2016 season.
