Hampton sweeps doubleheader over Maryland Eastern Shore
HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University softball team swept a nationally-televised doubleheader over Maryland Eastern Shore at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium on Friday, winning the first game 7-0 before taking the second game 4-2.
Both games were televised on ESPNU.
The Lady Pirates (18-18, 8-3 MEAC) have won three straight games and five of their last seven.
Hampton took a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning of the first game, when junior Margaret Wilkins scored on an RBI groundout from sophomore Taylor McCoy.
Freshman Heather Baccus singled home a run in the bottom of the second inning, scoring freshman Taylor Clark, before Wilkins delivered the big blow of the game; with the bases loaded, she cranked her second home run of the season to left field, giving Hampton a 6-0 lead.
Junior Kerissa Burruel singled home Clark in the bottom of the fifth to put the Lady Pirates up 7-0.
Wilkins and Clark each had two hits in the first game, and both players scored twice. Wilkins led the Lady Pirates with four RBIs.
Junior Jailynn Jackson picked up her 12th win of the season, allowing just one hit in seven innings of work, while striking out eight.
UMES (7-32, 4-6 MEAC) took a 2-0 lead early in the second game after pushing across two runs on a pair of RBI singles.
The Lady Pirates answered in the bottom of the third inning, when McCoy singled to left field to bring home Wilkins, before scoring on an RBI single from freshman Kayla DeSchepper to tie the game at 2-2.
Hampton then loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth with nobody out, before sophomore Diamond Ponds singled up the middle to bring home Burruel and give the Lady Pirates the lead.
Ponds later scored on a double steal to give Hampton a 4-2 lead.
Wilkins, McCoy, and Burruel each had two hits in the second game.
Sophomore Jecholia Pratt pitched seven strong innings to pick up her sixth win of the season, scattering seven hits and striking out three.
The series will conclude on Saturday at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium at 12 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com or www.umeshawks.com
Hornets Pound Spartans in Game One, Rally Attempt Falls Short in Game Two Saturday
DOVER, Del. – In a matchup between the top two teams in the MEAC North, the Delaware State softball team (23-14, 8-2 MEAC) settled for a split with the visiting Norfolk State Spartans (18-17, 12-2 MEAC) by taking game one 9-0 in five innings and falling 3-2 in game two.
To open the day, the Hornets wasted no time in taking an early advantage in the first as they scored three runs on four hits off starter Jamie Schulle (12-8), headlined by a Rochelle Sablay two-run RBI-double off the right field wall.
Next inning, with the score now 3-0 after infielder Danielle Velez scored from second off an erred throw by shortstop Devon Bitter, outfielder Jessica Madrid RBI-singled to center field to bring in infielder Chloe Oro from third. As a result, Schulle was replaced by Stephanie Wheatley (4-4) as she finished game one allowing six hits and three earned runs.
The Spartans, on the other hand, had a chance to do some damage in the third with the bases loaded and two outs after a Heather Dunning infield single. Nevertheless, pitcher Tara Tursellino (10-4) forced ensuing batter Robyn Mitchell to ground to Velez at second to get out of the jam.
For DSU, it put the contest reach out of reach, beginning with a Sandy Hawthorne sac-fly RBI in the fourth, followed by a Kaitlyn Slater (1) three-run bomb over the center field wall to seal the shutout victory.
At game’s end, the Hornets finished with 11 hits, led by Madrid and Velez both going 3-for-3. In the circle, Tursellino allowed three hits and a walk, to go along with five K’s in the winning effort.
In the backend of Saturday’s doubleheader, DSU managed just five hits and committed four errors to suffer the loss. One of those mishaps led to NSU taking a 1-0 lead during the fourth when left fielder Nicole Gazzola misjudged a Whitney Williams bouncing single, resulting in Alina Moriarty scoring from second.
However, the Hornets managed to keep the deficit at one, until NSU’s Nikki Jones drew a walk with the bases loaded in the seventh, followed by first basemen Kayla McNair recording a sac-fly RBI to make it a 3-0 contest.
Down to its last three outs, Delaware State saw its comeback hopes dwindle quickly as Schulle (13-8) struck out Sablay and forced infielder Jordan Stamps to line out to third.
Yet, the Hornets did not go down without a fight.
With Tursellino at second after singling to center and advancing on a NSU error, Velez (2) belted one deep to left field in the ensuing at-bat for a two-run blast. With game-tying run at the plate in Slater, who hit a three-run homer in the previous game, Schulle forced a groundout to shortstop Mikki Haury to snap DSU’s six-game winning streak in MEAC play.
For Schulle, she bounced back after a rough outing in game one to surrender five hits, no earned runs, a walk and tally three strikeouts, whereas her counterpart in Rachel Meagley (5-5) allowed two hits and recorded two K’s in three innings of work before being replaced by Vanessa Ciocatto (8-5).
Offensively, the Spartans totaled eight hits, led by Dunning, Moriarty and Williams all chipping in with two each.
Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will look to take the three-game set in the series finale tomorrow at 1 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.nsuspartans.com
Coppin State suffers non-conference setback at Bucknell
LEWISBURG, Pa. --- Alyssa Barker continued her torrid pace at the plate for the Coppin State softball team during a 6-4 setback to Bucknell Friday afternoon at Becker Field.
Barker had two hits and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Eagles (9-20 overall). For Barker, it was her eighth multi-hit game of the season and second in a row with more than one hit. Through eight games on Coppin State’s season long 10-game road trip, Barker is hitting .474 (9-for-19).
Barker also tossed her 13th complete game of the season despite taking the loss. She struck out four batters and gave Coppin State an opportunity to win the game by holding the Bison scoreless in their final four plate appearances. Barker also helped the Eagles race to an early 2-0 lead with a successful suicide squeeze in the top of the first inning.
Candice Van Horn, who scored a pair of runs, extended her hitting streak to five games with a leadoff single to begin the game. Van Horn is also enjoying a strong road trip as she has compiled a .429 average (9-for-21). For the season, Van Horn is eighth nationally in slugging percentage (.837) and 16th in batting (.465).
Caitlyn Isenberg singled and scored a run for Coppin State. Heather Josker stole home in the first inning for a run. Josker is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts this season. The Eagles battled hard, but their rally fell short against the Bison. Despite trailing by four runs, Coppin State had the potential tying run at the plate in the seventh inning.
The Eagles finish their long trip with a doubleheader Saturday against Bucknell beginning at 12 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com
Howard takes two from Morgan State
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Behind a combined five home runs and 18 runs scored, the Howard softball swept the Morgan State Lady Bears in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) doubleheader action Friday afternoon at Banneker Recreation Center. The Lady Bison won Game 1 of the twin bill 7-5 and took Game 2, 11-7.
With the victories, Howard improved to 4-30 (3-11 MEAC) while Morgan State fell to 3-19 (0-10 MEAC).
The Lady Bison won consecutive games for the first time since defeating Morgan and Norfolk State on April 21 & 25, 2012. The pair of wins marked the first time Howard defeated the same opponent twice since sweeping a three game set with Maryland Eastern Shore on March 24-25, 2012.
For complete story, visit www.hubison.com or www.morganstatebears.com