ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – The number-one seeded Delaware State softball team (21-21) from the north division opened the MEAC Tournament with a convincing 8-0 five-inning victory over the No. 4 North Carolina A&T State Aggies (14-30) on Thursday, capped off by MEAC Rookie of the Year, Vanessa Washington, connecting for a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth.

With this win, the Hornets extended their program-best winning streak to 14, as they will play the winner of No. 2 Bethune-Cookman and No. 3 Hampton later tonight at 7 p.m. Earlier this year, the Pirates took all games at home over DSU in five-innings, while the Hornets fell 9-2 to Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC Tournament last season in their final game of 2014.

As for its victory over NCAT, DSU tallied eight hits off starter Janika May (6-18), led by infielder Chloe Oro’s 2-for-3 performance, which included a double and two runs scored.  Outfielder Nicole Gazzola, meanwhile, also scored twice, in addition to extending her season-high hit streak to 18 games with a single up the middle.  Freshman Khaliyah Flournory, on the other hand, registered an RBI-triple in the second to put DSU up 2-0, whereas catcher Sandy Hawthorne went 1-for-1 with two walks, a fielder’s choice RBI and a run scored.

Pitching wise, Second Team All-MEAC selection, Tara Tursellino (15-14), surrendered two hits and fanned six Aggie batters to secure her fifth shutout win of the season.

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