Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
NORFOLK, Va. – Liberty second baseman Cassie Hendrix went a combined 4-for-7 with two stolen bases to help the Flames take a doubleheader 4-0, 4-3 from Norfolk State on Wednesday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field.
In game 1, Liberty (11-34-1) roughed up Spartan starting pitcher Ky Brown (Woodsfield, Ohio) for eight hits and tagged reliever Sarah Wittwer (Grand Junction, Colo.) for four more.
The Flames took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on J'nae Jefferson's RBI double to center field. They scored again in the fourth when Keely McMillon singled to right center to score Shannon McKain to bring the score to 2-0.
Liberty posted two more runs, one in the fifth and another in the sixth, to take the game. NSU (16-26) had runners in scoring position several times, but could get none across.
Tiffany Smith pitched a five-inning, three-hit shutout and struck out two to earn the win. Sarah Ellis tossed two hitless innings to get her second save of the season. Brown (5-5) gave up two earned runs, walked one and struck out one in five innings in the losing effort.
The Spartans came out more focused in the second game and jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead. Ashley Archer (Amelia, Va.) knocked in Jeanette Sauceda (Ontario, Calif.) in the bottom of the second and then with two outs in the third inning, Rebecca Barnes (Hampton, Va.) hit a solo home run to left center.
Liberty tied it at 2-all in the fourth when McKain drove in two runs with no outs. The Flames took a 4-2 lead in the same frame after a throwing error by pitcher Micki Rodriguez (Newport News, Va.) that allowed two runs to score.
The Spartans scored once more in the bottom of the fourth, but could get no closer the rest of the way. Ellis tossed a complete game, allowing eight hits and three earned runs and striking out seven for win. Rodriguez fell to 6-12 on the year after a seven-inning, six-hit outing. She gave up four runs (two earned), walked three, and struck out two.
Barnes and Jacklyn Peaton(Virginia Beach, Va.) each went 2-for-3 with a run in game 2, while Barnes Archer accounted for NSU's two RBI.
NSU closes out Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at North Carolina A&T. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. and the single game on Sunday starts at noon.
