Alabama State/Mississippi Valley Advance to Finals

Alabama State/Mississippi Valley Advance to Finals

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DECATUR -- Alabama State will meet Mississippi Valley in the finals of the 2013 SWAC Softball tournament. Alabama State flattened Jackson State to advance to the Southwestern Athletic Conference finals. Meanwhile, defending tournament champion Mississippi Valley survived the elimination bracket to earn a chance to defend their title.

The Devilettes have won seven of the last nine SWAC championships, while Alabama State is seeking their first. The game will be live on ESPN3 at 2 p.m. and tape delayed on ESPNU at 9 p.m. CT.

Alabama State 11, Jackson State 2 (5 innings)

Alabama State rolled into the finals with a convincing win over Jackson State.

Pitcher Destyni Valencia silenced JSU offense with a one-hit gem. Both of the Lady Tigers runs were unearned. Valencia had two strikeouts and worked around five walks.

On offense, the Lady Hornets stung All-SWAC pitching duo Jasmine Warren and Breea Jamerson for nine hits and 10 earned runs. Aleesa Yanez led the way as eight ASU players had at least one hit. Yanez was 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs. Meaghan Dixon also had a pair of RBIs on a 2-run home run. Stephanie Hernandez added an RBI on a double.

ASU wasted little time getting on the board, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning on Dixon's homer. Then in the third, the Lady Hornets blew the game open with five more runs. Yanez had the big blow in the inning with her 3-run triple. The 5-run rally gave Alabama State a 7-0 lead.

The Lady Hornets didn't leave any room for a comeback as they posted four more runs in the fifth inning to effectively put the game out of reach. JSU scored twice but couldn't avoid being run-ruled.

Mississippi Valley State 7, Prairie View 3
Mississippi Valley State 2, Prairie View 1

It was do-or-die for the defending SWAC champions as they came into Friday with no room to spare. They had to sweep tournament unbeaten Prairie View to earn a trip back to the SWAC tournament finals. They did just that, sweeping PVAM in a pair of hard-fought games.

In the first game, Alicia Lorenz had a no-hitter before leaving the game in the seventh inning. Cassandra Rivera let the no-hitter get away, and had to hold off a furious seventh inning rally by PVAM to preserve the win.

Lorenz (12-18) got the win, holding PVAM hitless through 6.2 innings. She had seven strikeouts and two walks.

Cally Falls took the loss for the Lady Panthers. She allowed seven runs on eight hits. She had eight strikeouts and five walks.

Alexandra Robertson and Natalia Covarrubias had two hits each. Covarrubias doubled, tripled and had an RBI. Brittany Lilly also piled up three RBI off of one triple.

In the deciding game, Lorenz outdueled Lauren Grun in the circle. Lorenz allowed only three hits and a run, while striking out 12 and walking two.

Grun took the loss for PVAM. She gave up only one earned run on seven hits. She struck out five and walked two.

Catcher Nicole Burr led MVSU going 2-for-2, while Alexandra Robertson hit a home run.

Leanna Flores led PVAM with two hits while Alisa Navarro had a solo homer.

Valley struck first in the third inning when Kimberly Spivey scored on an error. Then in the fourth, Robertson led off with a towering home run to give MVSU a 2-0 lead. Navarro cut the deficit in half for PVAM with a long homer of her own. But Lorenz kept the Lady Panthers off the board the final three innings.