2016 SWAC Softball Tournament Release
SWAC.org
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 11
2016 SWAC Softball Tournament, Irondale, Ala.
Alcorn State vs. Prairie View A&M, 3 p.m. (Game 1)
Southern vs. Mississippi Valley State, 3 p.m. (Game 2)
Texas Southern vs. Alabama A&M, 5:30 p.m. (Game 3)
Alabama State vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 5:30 p.m. (Game 4)
Thursday, May 12
2016 SWAC Softball Tournament, Irondale, Ala.
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 2:30 p.m. (Game 5)
Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4, 2:30 p.m. (Game 6)
Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 5 p.m. (Game 7)
Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4, 5 p.m. (Game 8)
Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 5, 7:30 p.m. (Game 9)
Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 6, 7:30 p.m. (Game 10)
Friday, May 13
2016 SWAC Softball Tournament, Irondale, Ala.
Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 2:30 p.m. (Game 11)
Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 2:30 p.m. (Game 12)
Winner Game 12, vs. Loser Game 11, 5 p.m. (Game 13)
Saturday, May 14
2016 SWAC Softball Tournament Championship, Irondale, Ala.
Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13, 2 p.m. on ESPN3 (Game 14)
OPENING-ROUND PREVIEWS:
West No. 1 Texas Southern Lady Tigers (24-16, 16-2 SWAC) vs. East No. 4 Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs (11-33, 9-9 SWAC)
In a rematch from last year’s opening round, the western division champion Texas Southern Lady Tigers will tangle with the eastern division’s No. 4 Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Tigers are led offensively by second-team All-SWAC third baseman Haley Smith (.421 BA, 48 H, 33 RBI) and first-team outfielder Krystalani Yockman (.391 BA, 36 H, 29 RBI), while ace Lauren Rodriguez (9-8, 80 K) boasts a conference-best 3.05 ERA. AAMU counters with first-team shortstop Tiana Sanders, who was second in the conference with 12 home runs to go along with a .358 batting average and 34 RBI. Imani Largin, a second-team all-conference outfielder, brings a .340 batting average (34 H, 20 RBI) to the table as well, and pitcher Caitlyn Hayden (8-13) is coming in with the Lady Bulldogs having won her last four starts. In the teams’ playoff tilt from last season, Texas Southern prevailed 4-3 in a nine-inning affair. Sanders was 2-for-4 in that contest.
East No. 2 Alcorn State Lady Braves (15-26, 11-6 SWAC) vs. West No. 3 Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers (10-26, 7-11 SWAC)
The surprise of the SWAC this season, east No. 2 seed Alcorn State will take on west No. 3 seed Prairie View A&M. The contest shapes up to be a styles clash as the Lady Panthers’ big-hitting offense (No. 3 in home runs, No. 4 in slugging percentage) goes up against the Lady Braves, who are second in the league in strikeouts and No. 4 when it comes to home runs allowed. PVAM is led by Co-Freshman of the Year Shelby Williams (.343 BA, 21 SB, 36 H) and All-SWAC selection Briana Knowles (.344, 33 H, 20 RBI), and Alcorn State’s Paige Breal, who was named Newcomer of the Year and a first-team All-SWAC pitcher, leads the league in strikeouts (154) and complete games (23). Offensively, the Braves look toward Taylor Hughes (.383 BA, 44 H, 23 RBI) as the lead bat of the order. ALCN took two of three from PVAM during the squads’ March 25-26 series earlier this year as the Lady Braves outscored the Panthers 23-15 in the contests.
West No. 2 Southern Jaguars (12-18, 9-9 SWAC) vs. East No. 3 Mississippi Valley State Devilettes (13-26, 9-9 SWAC)
In another opening round rematch from last season, western division No. 2 seed Southern will go up against eastern division No. 3 seed and eight-time SWAC Softball Tournament Champion Mississippi Valley State. Southern’s Kiara Suttles (.450 BA, 15 HR, 41 RBI) has had one of the best offensive seasons in the nation, as she paces the country in home runs per game and slugging percentage (1.088). Teammate Sydney Andrews led the conference in hitting (.461 BA), and pitcher Delphia Holmes has won her last four starts. MVSU’s Deja Talton is the top hitter of the Devilettes’ lineup (.382 BA, 39 H, 20 RBI), with Kaylin Dunn (.369 BA, 39 H, 23 R) and Ikeyia Alexander (8 HR, 30 RBI) helping to fill out the order. The Devilettes and Jaguars met twice in last year’s tournament, with MVSU winning both games by a combined score of 18-5 (6-1, 12-4) as they bounced SUBR from the postseason.
East No. 1 Alabama State Lady Hornets (24-25, 15-3 SWAC) vs. West No. 4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lady Lions (15-34, 6-12 SWAC)
The eastern division champion Alabama State Lady Hornets face the western division No. 4 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff Lady Lions in a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 scoring offenses in the conference. Alabama State boasts statistically, the best offense in the conference as powered by second-team all-SWAC outfielder Jenna Mae Thorne (.390 BA, 57 H), Co-Freshman of the Year Charlene Castro (.380 BA, 7 HR, 39 RBI) and senior slugger Kendall Core (.345 BA, 7 HR). Pitcher of the Year Maddie Phelps (16 W, 3.07 ERA, 124 K) anchors the ALST rotation. UAPB, which set a school record for victories this season relies on first-team outfielder Tonnay Hawkins (.388 BA, 52 H), Paige Garcia (.318 BA, 12 2B, 35 RBI) and Maria Aguilar (.315 BA, 41 H, 24 RBI) as the catalysts for the Lady Lions. The teams last met in the 2012 SWAC Softball Tournament, with ALST eliminating UAPB 7-2.
TOURNAMENT NEWS AND NOTES
• Defending champion Texas Southern enters this year’s tournament looking for its third-straight SWAC championship. If success, the Lady Tigers will have put together the longest championship streak since Mississippi Valley State claimed six in a row between 2004-2009.
• Of the teams currently in the tournament, Alabama State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff are the only two teams that have yet to win the SWAC Softball Tournament Championship. As far as former champions go, Alabama A&M is currently mired in a 14-year title drought, as the Lady Bulldogs’ lone title came in 2002.
• Southern’s Ambrelle Burton remains the only player in the league -- and one of three in the country -- that has yet to strike out this season.
• Since 2011, the team that enters the tournament with the best overall conference record -- this season, that team is Texas Southern -- has won just two tournament championships. The No. 1 overall seed has only advanced to the finals three times in this span.
• Alcorn State’s Paige Breal sat down 154 batters this season, which is the best total by a SWAC pitcher since 2011. That season, Mississippi Valley State’s Kim Spivey fanned 175 hitters.
• Southern’s Kiara Suttles (15) and Alabama A&M’s Tiana Sanders (12) mark the first time in three seasons that the SWAC has had two players clear the double-digit mark in home runs. Prior to this season, it had happened only twice in the past six seasons. Suttles’ total is the best since Meagan Dixon (ALST) hit 14 in 2011.