Game 1
Game 2
NORFOLK, Va. — The Norfolk State softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader from Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field. The Spartans won 15-4 and 8-0, both in five innings.
In game 1, NSU (5-14) took a 3-1 lead after the first inning and exploded for nine runs and eight hits in the bottom of the second. Sarah Spanka (Virginia Beach, Va.) drove in the first run of the inning with a single to center field. The next four Spartans each had RBI singles and Candice Vasquez (Montclair, Calif.) and Gipsy Ramirez (LaVerne, Calif.) each followed with RBI groundouts to give the Spartans seven runs in the inning. In her second at-bat of the inning, Spanka singled through the left side to score Jeanette Sauceda (Ontario, Calif.) and Danielle Wright (Safety Harbor, Fla.) scored on the same play on an error by shortstop Jasmine James.
UMES (1-12) tried to rally in the fourth and fifth innings, but could not overcome the large run deficit.
Elizabeth Castaneda (Montclair, Calif.) picked up the win for NSU after pitching three innings in relief. She allowed four hits and three runs (two earned), while striking out two batters and walking four. Shanice Crowder took the loss after giving up 16 hits and 15 runs (11 earned) in three innings.
Spanka was 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, while Jamie Raab (Houston, Texas) and Castaneda each went 2-for-2. Rebecca Barnes (Hampton, Va.) was 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI.
In the second game, Spartan pitcher Alyssa Velazquez (Aurora, Colo.) dominated the Lady Hawks by allowing just two hits while striking out seven in the five-inning shutout.
Meghan Ramsey (Virginia Beach, Va.) drove in three runs with her double to center field in the first inning to give NSU a 3-0 lead. Wright blasted her first home run of the year to center field to lead off the second to put her team up 4-0. The Spartans added three runs in the third and one in the fourth and held UMES scoreless in the top of the fifth to end the game early.
Ebony Hahn fell to 0-2 on the season with the loss. She allowed 11 hits and eight runs in four innings of work.
Every Spartan had at least one hit in the second game. Both Barnes and Ramirez went 2-for3.
The Spartans open MEAC play this weekend when they host Bethune-Cookman in a three-game series. The teams play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday and conclude the series with a single game at noon on Saturday.
