Florida A&M 12, South Carolina State 1
Maryland Eastern Shore 5, Morgan State 3
Morgan State 6, Maryland Eastern Shore 5
Norfolk State 6, Delaware State 1
Norfolk State 9, Delaware State 5
Maryland Eastern Shore 5, Morgan State 3
Morgan State 6, Maryland Eastern Shore 5
PRINCESS ANNE, Maryland — As the conference tournament race heats up, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore softball team got a much needed win versus the Morgan State University Bears in the second game of the two teams’ doubleheader on Friday (April 19).
“I continue to see so much growth in this team,” head coach
Karla Powell said. “But I still know we can play better and that the best is yet to come.”
In game one, the Hawks (8-27, 3-7 MEAC) were able to get eight hits at the plate, but they were hampered by mistakes as they committed five errors. Eastern Shore would only give up one earned run in the contest.
Senior
Breana Florez (Houston, TX) would bring the first runs across home plate for the Hawks via a two run home run in the third inning. Freshman
Rachel Gingrich (Landisburg, PA) would tie the game at three later in the inning as she scored off of an error by Morgan State.
Entering the seventh inning, Eastern Shore trailed 6-3. Sophomore
Stephanie Huff (Montoursville, PA) hit a double to score junior
Kendal Turner (Edgewood, MD) and Rachel Gingrich to make the score 6-5. Huff would be thrown out on the play after being caught in a rundown between second and third base. Freshman
Anissa Derifield (Woodbridge, VA), who went 3-4 in the game, singled to bring the winning run up to bat, but Maryland Eastern Shore would not complete the rally.
The Shore drew first blood in the second game as Derifield hit a RBI single to score Florez in the first inning to make the score 1-0. They would carry that lead into the third inning where the bats would explode for Maryland Eastern Shore.
After Derifield and junior
Kamryn Lanier (Chester, VA) singled to place runners on first and second, sophomore pitcher
Nasya Goodman (Willingboro, NJ) blasted a three run homer to dead center field to put the Hawks up 4-0.
Two batters later, junior Allison Gingrich kept the bats working with a single to left field. She would advance to second on an error and senior
Daeshia Jones (Teaneck, NJ) would bring her home with a double to the left center field wall. Eastern Shore held a 5-0 advantage after three innings.
Recap | Box Score: Game 1 | Game 2
Norfolk State 6, Delaware State 1
Norfolk State 9, Delaware State 5
DOVER, Del. – The Norfolk State softball team inched closer to its first-ever division title on Friday morning at Delaware State’s Hornets’ Nest field, earning a sweep of DSU in a MEAC doubleheader, 9-5 and 6-1.
The Spartans overcame a pair of 10-hit games by the Hornets to improve to 10-1 in the MEAC Northern Division. They entered the day two games ahead of second place Morgan State with six games left in the regular season.
Norfolk State also ran its overall record to 23-15, guaranteeing a winning record for the fourth time as a Division I program. They got to that point on Friday thanks to a pair of five-run innings in both games.
The Spartans finished with 12 hits in the first game and 10 more in the second. Freshman Skylar Swain improved to 8-5 on the year in game 2 after allowing all 10 hits but just one unearned run with five strikeouts in seven innings of work. Senior Hunter Halford (12-9) gave up 10 hits and five earned runs in seven innings in the first contest to get the win as well.
Delaware State dropped to 6-30 overall and 3-8 in the league.
That first game saw five different Spartans finish with two hits in the contest. Senior Kylee Lopez hit 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI, and freshman Lily Potter also batted 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI as well.
NSU got going with five runs in the first. Junior Shelby DesChamps singled to lead off the game and scored when Lopez reached on an error. Sophomore Tuli Iosefa followed with an RBI single, and two outs later sophomore Jazzmaine Hammond and freshman Denisha Megginson singled for a 3-0 lead. Both players then came home when Potter doubled down the left field line.
But DSU responded, getting four hits in the bottom of the first as part of a four-run frame. Leading 5-4, NSU got two runs back when DesChamps and Lopez hit RBI singles with two outs in the fourth. An RBI single by DSU’s Vanessa Barron then made it 7-5 in the sixth.
Recap | Box Score: Game 1 | Game 2