Spartans Rally in Game 1, Finish Sweep in Game 2

NORFOLK, Va. – A three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh gave the Norfolk State softball team a 4-3 win in the first game, and the Spartans finished out the sweep with a 9-1 victory in game 2 in a conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field.

NSU faced a two-run deficit in the first game but rallied in the last inning to pull out the win. The Spartans then put a six-spot on the board in the first inning of the second game and never looked back.

As a result of the sweep, NSU maintained first place in the MEAC Northern Division at 10-1 while also improving to .500 overall at 16-16.

Freshman Kayla McNair finished the day 3-for-4 and drove in three runs in the second game, including a walk-off home run in the fifth. Junior Alina Moriarty hit 4-for-7, while sophomore Whitney Williams also had three hits on the day.

Down 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh in that first contest, NSU got things going when senior Morgan Boyd led off the inning with a bunt toward third base. Taylor McDougall’s diving attempt knocked the ball toward the backstop, allowing Boyd to reach second. She then stole third and scored when sophomore Heather Dunning reached on an infield error to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Junior Robyn Mitchell singled to left, and after a pitching change, McNair walked to load the bases, still with no outs. Moriarty singled along the left field line to plate Dunning, and one out and one pitching change later freshman Mikki Haury hit a slow roller to second to score Mitchell for the winning run.

Senior Jamie Schulle (11-7) picked up the win, giving up six hits and three earned runs with six strikeouts in all seven innings.

Morgan State (3-16, 0-7) scored in the top of the first on an RBI groundout, but junior Liz Riley’s single into shallow center field in the second tied it up.

The Bears scored two in the fifth for a 3-1 lead when a pickoff attempt glanced off the batter’s helmet and into left field.

The Spartan bats, slow to get going in the first contest, finally did early in game 2. They pounded out five hits in the first frame to jump ahead, 6-0.

Boyd walked, stole second, and went to third on a bunt single by Dunning. A walk loaded the bases before McNair hit a sacrifice fly for the first run. An easy-looking swing from Haury put one to the wall in center field for a double, and Williams smoked one past the pitcher to make it 3-0.

Junior Sommer Di Fulgo dropped one into shallow center, and an error on the center field brought home the second run of the play. Moriarty capped the scoring in the opening frame when she hit a blooper just down the left field line.

Zina Constancia hit a solo homer in the second to get MSU on the board, but in the bottom of the frame senior Kathy Cortez hit an RBI bloop single into shallow left for a 7-1 edge.

McNair blasted a walk-off, two-run home over the right center field fence in the fifth inning to end the game on the eight-run rule.

Senior Stephanie Wheatley improved her record to 4-4 by pitching 3.2 innings of relief, giving up just one hit and no runs.

The two teams will play a single game Sunday at noon to close out the series.

For complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.morganstatebears.com

 

 

Hornets Wallop Coppin State in Doubleheader, Take Both Games in Five Innings

DOVER, Del. – The Delaware State softball team (21-12, 6-1 MEAC) ousted the Coppin State Eagles (9-16, 5-5 MEAC) at home in Saturday afternoon’s doubleheader with a pair of five-inning shutout victories, 9-0 and 13-0.

In game one, the Hornets took a 3-0 lead in the opening inning, headlined by a Jessica Madrid two-run RBI-double down the left field line.  Two innings later, same score, DSU took advantage of three CSU errors to score six runs on four hits to capture a commanding 9-0 lead.

The rest of the way, DSU’s defense and pitcher Vanessa Ciocatto (8-5), who allowed just one hit and a walk, to go along with a game-high four K’s, shunned CSU’s offensive attack to come away with the victory.

At the plate, the Hornets finished with 10 hits, led by infielder Jordan Stamps going a perfect 3-for-3 with, including two doubles, and infielder Chloe Oro going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Game two, meanwhile, was no different, except for the Hornets taking a 3-0 lead in the second with Madrid driving in two runs with a single up the middle.

Next inning, Gazzola and Madrid churned out back-to-back two-run RBI to make it an 8-0 ball game, followed by catcher Sandy Hawthorne driving in Madrid with a triple to right.

In the fourth, Hornets continued to pour it on, beginning with a leadoff homer by Stamps (5).  Later in the frame, Gazzola got in on the action with two-run RBI single to left center, preceded by a Madrid RBI-single up the middle in the following at-bat to put DSU ahead 13-0.

At game’s end, DSU tallied 13 hits with Sablay leading the way with a perfect 3-for-3 performance, to go along with two runs and an RBI.  Gazzola, Madrid and Stamps, on the other hand, all chipped in with two hits each.

Pitching wise, senior Rachel Meagley (5-3) surrendered two hits and fanned three CSU batters to pick up the win, whereas Tara Tursellino (5) picked up the save.

Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will aim for the series sweep tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

*Note: Tomorrow’s game will be aired on ESPNU (Tape Delay – 6:30 p.m. EST) and ESPN3 (Live).  Be sure to check your local listings.

For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.coppinstatesports.com