Arnold Lifts Coppin State Past George Washington

BALTIMORE -- Paige Arnold hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning and Coppin State rallied to defeat George Washington 5-4 on Wednesday at the Coppin State Softball Field.

Stacey Burgos led off the inning with a double down the rightfield line. With one out, Jade Dudley drew a walk and Arnold then crushed a pitch to left giving Coppin State a 5-4 lead.

Arnold then had to wiggle out of a jam in the seventh inning to secure the Eagles second straight victory.

Arnold retired the first batter, but Chelsea Lenhart laced a double to left. Lenhart moved up to third on a wild pitch, but Arnold then induced a groundout for the second out. Autumn Taylor walked, but Burgos cut down Taylor trying to steal second to end the game.

Coppin State (5-7) trailed 4-0 after four innings, but began its comeback in the fifth inning.

Dudley, Arnold and Patrice Williams all singled to load the bases with no outs to start the inning. Erica Washington reached on an error, which scored Dudley with the Eagles first run of the game.

Heather Josker then cut the lead to 4-2 by lifting a sacrifice fly to right that scored Arnold.

Arnold improved to 3-4 on the season with the win as she went seven innings and allowed five hits, two earned runs and struck out eight batters.

Arnold was 2-for-3, while Burgos, Dudley, Williams and Latifah Bernard all had a hit each.

Arnold hit another three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning of the second game, but the game was called because of rain.

For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com

Lady Rattlers Fall To Florida State, 9-2

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 23)  -  Florida State turned 16 hits into nine runs as they handed Florida A&M a 9-2 loss, Wednesday afternoon at Lady Rattlers Softball Complex.

FAMU (13-17) finished with two hits.

The Lady Rattlers were paced by Tera Gainer and Whitney Robinson as they both finished with one hit each.

FSU (16-14) was paced by Shayla Jackson as she recorded three hits in five at-bats, while scoring one run with a two RBIs.

Sarah Hamilton (9-9) picked the win for the Lady Seminole as she pitched four innings, allowing two hits, two earned runs and striking out six, while Robinson (8-9) received the loss for the Lady Rattlers as she gave up ten hits, eight earned runs and striking out three in three innings of work.

The Lady Rattlers took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Robinson doubled to left field scoring both Gainer and Tenisha Dixon.

FSU regained the lead in the top of the second inning as Ashley Stager scored on a Kristie McConn single up the middle. Then Morgan Bullock and Kirsten Austin would score on a Tiffini Brown fielder's choice, followed by a Jackson single up the middle scoring Brown, giving  the Lady Seminoles a 4-2 lead.

The Lady Seminoles would score four more runs in the top of the fourth and would pick up one run in the top of the sixth, for the 9-2 final.

For the complete story, visit www.famurattlersports.com

SC State Sweeps UMES in Softball Doubleheader

Orangeburg, S.C.-SC State swept fellow MEAC Foe Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), in a non-conference doubleheader 8-7 and 9-1. This was the second straight sweep in three days. The Lady Bulldogs Monday defeated Claflin, 4-0 and 3-1. The matchup was contested at the Hillcrest Field, the Lady Bulldogs temporary home field, in Orangeburg.

UMES (3-17) started Game One of the double-header very aggressive taking a 6-0 lead by the bottom of the third inning. SC State (4-27) bats came to life in the bottom of the fourth as they put up two runs in the inning to start a rally. The Lady Bulldogs put up three additional runs in the fifth and two in the sixth while allowing just one run by the Lady Hawks to tie the game at 7-7 heading into the final inning. Neither team was able to score in the seventh inning sending the contest into extra innings.

After beginning the eighth inning with a strong defensive stand, forcing UMES to a three-and-out, SC State offense remained solid. A lead off bunt single by Tonya Giles advanced the Lady Bulldogs lead runner, Arziné Lee, to third base. A subsequent single by Taylor-Anne Harris allowed Lee to score the winning run, giving the Lady Bulldogs the 8-7 Game One victory in extra innings.

SC State dominated Game Two, scoring one run in the first inning and five runs in the third inning to take the 6-0 lead. UMES lone run came in the top of the fourth off an in-the-park homerun by Amber Corrigan. The Lady Bulldogs manufactured three additional runs in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and runners on second and third (one run already scored in the inning), Kelsey Grochow doubled down the left field line to bring the base runners in which gave the Lady Bulldogs the 9-1 Game Two Victory in six.

Redshirt junior Sonya Giles was having a productive day before leaving the contest due to injury. On the day she recorded four hits, two runs and four RBI's. Senior Tonya Giles finished the afternoon with two runs and four hits.

Freshman, Vianney Gomez picked up the victory if both games. Amber Corrigan and Carmen Gurrola picked up the losses for UMES in Games One and Two, respectively.

For the complete story, visit www.scsuathletics.com or www.umeshawks.com