9-Run 5th Propels DSU to 10-0 Win over NSU
DOVER, Del. - Delaware State broke open a close game with a nine-run fifth inning for a 10-0, five-inning win over the Norfolk State softball team Saturday afternoon at DSU's Hornets Nest field.
After being held to just one run and one hit in the first four innings, the Hornets exploded for eight hits in the bottom of the fifth. Delaware State ended the game on the eight-run rule to move into a tie for first place in the MEAC North with NSU at 9-3. The Hornets improved to 19-14-1 overall, while the Spartans fell to 20-20.
Casey Beighley and Rachel Meagley (5-1), meanwhile, combined to limit NSU to just three hits on the afternoon, two off the bat of freshman Haley Ward.
After Delaware State took a 1-0 lead in the first thanks to two errors on NSU, the Spartans got out of a first-and-third, no out jam in the fourth after sophomore Jamie Schulle came in to relieve freshman Liz Riley.
The Hornets did break through in the fifth, beginning with Stephanie Martello's two-run single with no outs. Breanne Parr and Ashlyn Campbell followed with RBI singles, and a sacrifice fly from Beighley made it 6-0. A short time later, Campbell came home on a double steal, and Bria Green launched a three-run homer with two outs to end the game.
Green went 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Chelsea Stern scored a pair of runs and hit 2-for-3.
Riley (10-11) suffered the loss, giving up five runs, four earned, on five hits in 3.2 innings of work. Ward extended her hit streak to 18 games.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.nsuspartans.com
Softball Sweeps Doubleheader Against Maryland Eastern Shore
HAMPTON, Va. -Hampton swept its doubleheader over Maryland Eastern Shore at the Lady Pirates Softball Complex on Saturday, winning the first game 5-2 before taking the second game 9-1 in six innings.
The Lady Pirates (19-26, 7-4 MEAC) have won six of their last eight games.
Hampton struck first in the bottom of the first inning in the first game, when senior Sharde' Estep drove in junior Nina Ferguson with a single up the middle to put the Lady Pirates up 1-0.
The Lady Pirates then scored three times in the bottom of the third, thanks to a three-run bomb from junior Carla Trimble to left field - her third of the season - to take a 4-0 lead.
Estep added a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth to put Hampton up 5-0.
UMES (0-27, 0-12 MEAC) scored twice in the top of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 5-2, but the Lady Hawks could get no closer.
Senior Travonna Byrd scattered three hits over seven innings of work, picking up her eighth win of the season. She struck out a season-high eight batters, including striking out the side in the top of the third inning.
Estep had two hits in the first game, along with senior Bre'Anna Brown and sophomore Margaret Wilkins. Trimble's three RBI led the way, while Estep added two RBI of her own.
The Lady Pirates took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning in the second game, as Ferguson brought in senior Brooke Boykin (Riverside, Calif.) with a sacrifice fly and Estep drove in yet another run with a double to left-center field.
The Lady Hawks cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth on an RBI single from Carmen Gurrola.
Wilkins recorded an RBI in the fourth inning when she reached on a fielding error, bringing in Trimble to score. Freshman Bianca Vallejo then reached on an error to bring in another run, before Ferguson recorded an RBI on another error to put Hampton up 5-1.
UMES recorded four errors in that inning.
Hampton pushed across yet another run in the bottom of the fifth, when pinch runner Rachel Baylor scored from third base on a wild pitch. Senior Rebecca Magett then sent her first home run of the season over the left-field wall with Wilkins on third to put the Lady Pirates up 8-1.
Ferguson then recorded an RBI single in the sixth inning to put Hampton up 9-1 and invoke the run rule.
Byrd matched her season high with eight strikeouts in the second game, giving up just four hits in recording her ninth win of the season. She is now 9-13 in 2012.
Brown went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Ferguson drove in a team-high three runs. Magett added two RBI, while Wilkins scored twice.
For the complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com or www.hamptonpirates.com