Doubleheader Split Gives Hampton MEAC North Title
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University softball team split a season-ending doubleheader against Norfolk State on Sunday at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium, winning the series to take the MEAC Northern Division title.
The Lady Pirates (30-23, 16-2 MEAC) won the second game 3-1 after losing 5-2 in the first game. Hampton will be the North’s top seed in the 2013 MEAC Championships (May 9-11 in Ormond Beach, Fla.).
Hampton pushed across three runs in the bottom of the third inning in the second game, starting with an RBI single from Taylor McCoy. Bobbi Langlois followed with an RBI single before advancing to second base on an error.
Shine Huwe then blooped a triple down the right-field line to score Langlois and give Hampton a 3-0 lead.
Norfolk State (26-20, 15-3 MEAC) got on the board in the fourth on an RBI single from Kathy Cortez, cutting the lead to 3-1. The Spartans threatened in the sixth inning, putting runners at second and third with two outs, but they couldn’t push across a run.
Langlois threw six innings to pick up her fifth win of the season, striking out one and scattering six hits. Jailynn Jackson struck out two batters in the seventh inning to pick up her first save of the season.
Norfolk State opened the first game with two runs in the top of the first inning after a single up the middle from Haley Ward, but the Lady Pirates got on the board in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI single from McCoy to cut the Spartans’ lead to 2-1.
A sacrifice fly from Trimble in the fourth tied the game at 2-2.
The Spartans answered with three runs in the top of the fifth inning, stringing together three straight RBI singles to take a 5-2 lead.
Jackson struck out five batters in six innings of work in the first game of the doubleheader. She ended the regular season with a record of 23-10.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.nsuspartans.com.
B-CU Splits Doubleheader With FAMU
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman rallied for a split of Sunday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southern Division doubleheader with Florida A&M to clinch a number one seed in the conference tournament.
After dropping the first game 7-5, the Wildcats (17-32 overall, 11-2 MEAC) run-ruled the Rattlers (18-30,9-4) to claim the Division’s regular season title and a top seed for Thursday’s tournament opener.
The Wildcats outhit the Rattlers 10-4, but Florida A&M capitalized on 16 free passes to win the first game.
B-CU led 1-0 after the first when Calesha Shelley doubled and scored on Kelsey Rodney’s single.
FAMU answered with a three-run second and maintained its lead the rest of the way.
Aurelia Gamch brought the Wildcats within 6-5 with a two-run single in the sixth, but B-CU could pull no closer.
Gamch and Michelle Banuleos-Smith each had two hits and two RBIs for the Wildcats in the first game, while Sophia Ortega and Shelley had three and two hits, respectively.
Down 3-1, the Wildcats used an eight-run outburst to take control of game 2. Shamaria Engram delivered the big hit with a bases-loaded triple and then scored on a throwing error to give the Wildcats a 5-3 lead. Shelley, Simone Ceasar and Rodney had RBI singles in the inning.
Banuelos-Smith launched a three-run homer to left in the sixth to give the Wildcats the run-rule victory.
Shelley went 3-4 in the second game, while Rodney added two hits.
After giving up three first-inning runs, Shanel Tolbert retired 11 of the next 12 batters to help B-CU regain control.
DSU's Gazzolla Sets Hits Record In Win Over UMES
Dover, Del. - Nicole Gazzolla had three hits to set a new Delaware State single season record and Jenn Fischbach smacked a two-run homer in the Hornets’ 10-7 win over UMES at the DSU Softball Complex.
The Hornets won two of three games in the series against the Hawks to close out the regular season with a 20-33 overall record and 12-6 mark in the MEAC.
Gazzolla was 3-for-4 at the plate to give her 78 hits for the season. The previous record of 77 was set by Jordan Reid in 2011.
Delaware State opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Jess Madrid doubled in the first two runs and Sandy Hawthorne singled in the third run of the inning.
The Hornets opened up a 4-0 lead when Madrid doubled to lead off the third inning and later scored on Hawthorne’s second RBI single of the game.
UMES scored three times in the top of the fourth inning to pull to within a run.
Delaware State answered with four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take an 8-3 lead. Rochelle Sablay doubled in the first two runs and Ashley Bennett followed with a two-run single to account for the fourth inning runs.
The Hawks refused to quit, putting three runs on the board in the fifth to cut the Hornets’ lead to 8-6.
Fischbach gave Delaware State some insurance with a two-run shot over the fence in center field to give the Hornets a 10-6 lead.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.umeshawks.com.
Coppin State Completes Sweep of Morgan State
BALTIMORE -- Danielle Smith went 3-for-5 and scored three runs, leading Coppin State to a 12-8 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference victory over Morgan State Sunday at the Coppin State Field to complete a three-game sweep of the Bears.
With her three hits, Smith moved into second place on the Coppin State single-season hit list with 47. She is just one hit shy of tying the record shared by Jamie Imhoff and Christen Glascoe who each had 48 hits.
With the three-game sweep, Coppin State secured the No. 4 seed from the Northern Division for the MEAC Tournament and will face either Bethune-Cookman or Florida A&M May 9 at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex in Ormond Beach, Fla.
Morgan State (8-35, 5-13 MEAC) rallied to take the lead against Coppin State after falling behind 6-0 after two innings, but the Eagles responded with a five-run sixth inning to put the game away.
Heather Josker, Gabriel Ziller and Nicole Boggs each had two hits for the Eagles, while Candice Van Horn and Alyssa Barker both knocked in a pair of runs. Boggs, who was playing in her final home game at Coppin State, also scored a pair of runs.
Melli Richardson picked up the win for the Eagles in relief and Samantha Denlinger notched her second save of the season.
Coppin State (16-23, 9-9 MEAC) scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and in the bottom of the sixth inning on its way to the victory.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.morganstatebears.com.