For the second year in a row, the Jackson State softball team is champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The Tigers (29-23) defeated Florida A&M (28-20) on Sunday, 3-1, in the winner-takes-all SWAC title game at the Gulfport Sportsplex. The win catapults JSU to the NCAA tournament, and with it, came a sense of a déjà vu considering the Tigers beat the Rattlers by the very same score in the very same game a season ago to earn a regional berth.
FAMU got on the board first when Amari Brown doubled down the left field line to send K. Watson across the plate in the opening inning. JSU responded with an Ariana Murillo two-run single in the second. Mari Stephens provided an insurance run with an RBI groundout in the third to bring in Ka’liyah Gipson and make for a 3-1 lead – a score that would stick until the very end.
Brooklyn Morris (13-8) found the win on the mound for JSU with seven strong innings of work, allowing one run on five hits. Brown, playing both ways for FAMU, suffered the loss.
The 2025 NCAA softball tournament selection show is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
