IRONDALE, Ala. – The Savannah State University softball team (6-13) fell to Alabama State University (7-12) 4-3 in eight innings in game one and 9-8 in game two Saturday at the Tiny Laster Tournament.
 
Junior pitcher Amanda Hallman went 5-for-5 with two runs scored, two doubles, a home run and three RBIs with a 2.000 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .875 in both games, while junior right fielder Alexis Singleton went 6-for-9 with a run scored and recorded a .667 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. 
 
Senior first baseman Torrian Wright went 3-for-6 with an RBI and recorded a .500 slugging percentage and a .625 on-base percentage.
 
Alabama State 4, Savannah State 3 (8)
Hallman went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI with a home run, while Singleton went 2-for-4.  Hallman went the distance giving up three earned runs with eight hits and five strikeouts.
 
Alabama State broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run to center field to start the inning to capture a 1-0 lead.
 
The Lady Tigers answered in the bottom half of the inning with a Hallman solo home run to left center field to tie the game at one after four innings. 
 
The game remained tied at one enter extra innings.  The Lady Tigers had a change to end the game in regulation in the bottom of the seventh inning.  After a pop out to start the inning, junior left fielder Chasney Jenkins singled to left field and after a ground out to second base for the second out to advance Jenkins to second, Singleton singled to the shortstop that put runners on the corners with two outs.  A groundout ended SSU's threat and sent the game into extra innings.
 
Per the extra inning rules, ASU placed a runner on second to start the inning and a single to left field put runners on the corners with no outs.  A sacrifice bunt to third base brought home a run to give the Lady Hornets a 2-1 lead and put a runner on second with one out.
 
An ASU strikeout recorded the second out of the inning, but back-to-back RBI singles gave the Lady Hornets a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom half of the inning.
 
Pinch runner Tamara Jones was placed on second to begin the inning and after a walk to freshman third baseman Cortni Jones, Hallman singled to second to load the bases with no outs.  A senior designated hitter Molly Lillis groundout to second base to bring home Tamara Jones to cut the lead to 4-2 and to put runners on second and third with one out.
 
Another groundout by senior Antonette Smith brought home Cortni Jones to cut the lead to a run, 4-3, to put a runner on third with two outs.  Sophomore center fielder Shelby Eccles reached on a bunt single and Jenkins walked to load the bases with two outs, but a fielder's choice to third ended SSU's threat and to give ASU a run win.
 
Alabama State was led by Charlene Castro with a 2-for-4 performance at the place with a run scored and an RBI with a home run and picked up the save pitching the final inning with two hits and a walk.  Maddie Phelps (4-4) picked up the winning in relief pitching 5.2 innings giving up two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts.
 
Alabama State 9, Savannah State 8
Hallman led SSU with a perfect batting average going 3-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and two RBIs, while Singleton went 4-for-5 with a run scored.  Wright went 2-for-2 with an RBI, while Cortni Jones went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
 
Sophomore pitcher Ashley Eichenlaub pitched the first five innings giving up seven earned runs on 11 hits, while Hallman (3-6) pitched the final 1.2 innings giving up two earned runs on five hits to pick up the loss.
 
Savannah State started off the game with three runs scored to take a 3-0 lead after the top of the first inning.  Singleton started the game with a single to left field, while Harris singled to third base and Cortni Jones singled to the pitcher on a bunt to load the bases with no outs.  Wright singled home Singleton to keep the bases loaded and Harris scored on an error by the catcher to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Hallman hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Cortni Jones for a 3-0 lead to record the first out of the inning and to put runners on first and second.  But after a strikeout and a line out ended SSU's threat in the top of the first inning.
 
Alabama State responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning after a two-run home run to center field to cut SSU's lead to a run, 3-2, after the first inning.
 
The Lady Hornets took the lead in the bottom of the second inning after scoring two runs to take a 4-3 lead after two innings after an RBI single and an RBI fielder's choice.
 
ASU scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 6-3 lead after four innings of play with a sacrifice fly and a solo home run to right field. 
 
The Lady Tigers bounced back in the top half of the inning with five runs scored to take an 8-6 lead after the top of the fifth inning.  Cortni Jones started the winning with a double, followed by a walk by Wright, who was replaced by Tamara Jones pinch running.  Hallman double to right center to bring in Cortni Jones and to put runners on second and third with no outs.
 
Eichenlaub singled to center field to bring home Tamara Jones and advanced to second on the throw to home.  Smith singled to left field to bring home Hallman and Eichenlaub to take a 7-6 lead.  Eccles sacrificed Smith to third and Jenkins was thrown out at first to allow Smith to score to take an 8-6 lead.  Singleton singled to the pitcher, but a groundout to the third baseman ended the inning.
 
The Lady Hornets scored a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut SSU's lead to a run, 8-7, after five innings after an RBI sacrifice fly and tied the game at eight in the bottom of the sixth inning after an RBI single.
 
The Lady Tigers went three-up and three-down in the top of the seventh inning and ASU won the game on a two-out RBI single to left field to win by a run.
 
Alabama State was led by Jenna Mae Thorne, who went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Carly Evans, Laura Aguilar and Alexia Boggess each recorded two hits.  Phelps (5-4) picked up the win pitching the final 2.1 shutout innings giving up two hits with a walk.
 
The Lady Tigers finish the tournament in Irondale, Ala., on Sunday with Grambling State at 11 a.m. and Mississippi Valley State at 1:30 p.m.
 
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