Sophomore starter Jamie Schulle pitched seven shutout innings and the Norfolk State softball team salvaged the last contest of a three-game series with Howard, 7-0, Thursday afternoon at NSU Softball Field.

Schulle overcame a 50-minute rain delay and allowed just three hits on the day with one walk and five strikeouts. After dropping two games on Wednesday to the Bison, NSU rebounded to improve to 21-22 overall and more importantly 10-5 in MEAC play. Howard fell farther back into fifth place in the MEAC Northern Division at 8-7, 11-33 overall.

Only the top 4 teams in the Northern Division advance to the MEAC tournament May 10-12.

Senior Danielle Wright and freshman Whittni Gray each drove in two runs, while sophomore Melina Valles went 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI double.

After Schulle (11-9) stranded a pair of Bison runners in scoring position in the top of the fourth, the Spartans struck through in the bottom half of the frame to put four runs on the board.

Freshman Robyn Mitchell and Valles walked in between an infield single by senior Whitney Holland to load the bases with one out. Howard starter Dominique Lawrence drilled Gray in the back with the pitch to put the first run on the board, and Boyd lofted an RBI single over the head of Andascha Moore-Pryor at third to make it 2-0.

Samantha Gatson came in to pitch in relief and immediately surrendered a two-run single to Wright for a 4-0 advantage.

Then in the fifth, with freshman Haley Ward on second and Holland on first, Valles lofted a double over the left fielder's head to plate Ward. After bringing the tarp out onto the field during a moderate rainstorm, NSU added two more runs in the inning following that 50-minute delay. Holland scored on a pitch that made its way to the backstop, and Gray hit one deep down the right field foul line for a sacrifice fly and a 7-0 lead.

Schulle, meanwhile, retired the last six Bison in a row after the rain delay for her fifth shutout of the year.

Lawrence (5-14) suffered the loss, giving up four earned runs on three hits with four walks and four strikeouts in just 3.1 innings of work.