Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 JASPER, AL – The Kentucky State University softball team played a pair of team ranked in the HBCU Softball Division II poll, and came away with a split Saturday during the second day of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Crossover.

BENEDICT 8, KENTUCKY STATE 0 (5 INNINGS)
Kentucky State committed six errors, leading to six unearned runs, as the Thorobreds (#3 HBCU Division II poll) fell to Benedict (#10 HBCU Division II poll), 8-0.

The Thorobreds managed just four hits, two coming off the bat of senior Natalia Bocanegra (Covina, CA). Senior Jittaun Thompson (Pomona, CA) and sophomore Moana Pinner (Hilo, HI) registered the other two hits.

Benedict scored a single run on a two-out single in the first, and added two more runs in the second. The Tigers broke the game open – scoring five unearned runs in the fourth innings.

Senior Paola Flores, 2-6, (San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico) allowed eight runs, two earned, on eight hits in five innings of work. She added five strikeouts with just one walk.

KENTUCKY STATE 4, ALBANY STATE 3
Senior Jackie Zubiate drew a two-out, bases loaded walk in the top of the sixth inning to break a 3-all tie, bringing home freshman Olivia Steward, who reached on a one-out single. Zubiate battled from a 0-2 hole, fouling off multiple pitches, before drawing the walk.

From there, Flores held down the fort. She sat the Golden Rams down in order in the sixth and worked around a one-out double in the seventh to secure the victory.
Kentucky State entered the game ranked third in the HBCU Softball Division II poll, while the Golden Rams were ranked fourth.

The Thorobreds took the early lead on a two-out, two-run single by freshman Olivia Saylor. KSU had runners on second and third with no outs, but needed the clutch two-out blooper down the right field line to plate a pair of runs.

Albany State took the lead on the third inning as a two-out error allowed two runs to cross the plate. The Golden Rams' first run of the inning came on a sacrifice fly.
Back-to-back two-out walks, the first by freshman Janae Graham and the latter by Bocanegra, pushed across the tying run in the fourth inning.

Bocanegra finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, while Steward was 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Kentucky State (7-11 overall, 2-1 SIAC) wraps up action in the SIAC Crossover 11 a.m. EST Sunday against Fort Valley State and 5:45 EST Sunday against Clark Atlanta.