SWAC Softball Championship Preview

COURTESY SWAC MEDIA RELATIONS

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- No. 1 West seed Texas Southern and No. 3 East seed Mississippi Valley State will meet for the 2014 Southwestern Athletic Conference Softball Championship on Sunday, May 11, at Wilson Morgan Park in Decatur, Ala.. First pitch is slated for 10 a.m.

TSU (30-18) enters the final round after defeating in-state rivals Prairie View A&M, 5-2, on Saturday. Texas Southern captured the Western  title during the regular season and are led by Thomasina Garza.

For the tournament, Garza connected 6-of-11 with four runs scored, nine RBI and three home runs including two dingers in the win against PVAMU. She is currently batting .407 on the season. The Lady Tigers make their second championship game appearance after capturing the title in 2000.

Defending tournament champions, MVSU (14-34) makes an unprecedented 10th consecutive championship game appearance winning eight titles during the spread.

The Devilettes will have a chance to earn a third straight title after defeating top seeded Jackson State, 4-3. MVSU is powered by Brandi Williams during its 2014 tournament run. Williams has recorded five RBI hitting 5-of-9. Jahcenda Garrett is the only Devilette hitting over 300 on the year posting a .314 batting average.

This will be the third time TSU and MVSU will meet in the SWAC tournament and the first in the title game. The Devilettes defeated the Lady Tigers 7-0 in 2006 and 1-0 in 2013. MVSU holds the series record, 18-4, since 1997, however, TSU won the last meeting during the league's divisional crossover round-up, 17-4, on March 22.

For the meetings, MVSU has outscored TSU 111-66.

 

COURTESY SWAC MEDIA RELATIONS