ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – A five-run second inning was all the Norfolk State softball team needed in a 5-1 win over Delaware State on Friday afternoon in the MEAC tournament at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.

The victory, the second of the day for the Spartans, pushed NSU into the last round of the loser’s bracket to face Savannah State at 6 p.m. The winner of that game will face Hampton in the championship round on Saturday.

Junior Jamie Schulle shut down the Delaware State offense, giving up seven hits but just one unearned run in all seven innings. She improved her record to 19-12 overall, while NSU as a team ran its record to 29-21.

Delaware State saw its season come to a close at 22-35.

Schulle and DSU reliever Rachel Meagley got into a pitcher’s duel at the end of the game after both teams scored all of their runs in the second. Meagley gave up just one hit in four innings in relief of starter Jennifer Fischbach (5-11), who allowed all five runs, two earned, in two innings of work.

After the Hornets put a run on the board in the second on a throwing error on the Spartans, NSU responded with a five-spot in the bottom half of the frame, all with two outs. Junior Melina Valles walked and senior Gipsy Ramirez singled, and both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Freshman Heather Dunning beat out a chopper to second to score the first run, and sophomore Moriarty singled past Fischbach to drive in Ramirez.

Dunning scored when DSU second baseman Nicole Gazzolla booted a grounder off the bat of freshman Whitney Williams. Sophomore Haley Ward and junior Kathy Cortez followed with run-scoring singles to center, with pinch runner Shekinah Stewart making a great dive into home to avoid the tag with the fifth run of the inning.

The teams then combined to leave just four runners on base in the last four and a half innings of play.