Game 1
Game 2
NORFOLK, Va. — The Liberty softball team swept a pair of games from Norfolk State on Tuesday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field. The Flames won 8-1 and 9-3 to improve to 30-11 on the season.
In the first game, Liberty struck first by scoring two runs in the top of the third. Danielle Howard drove in the first run with her double to right center field and then she scored on J'nae Jefferson's sacrifice fly.
The Flames scored another run in the fourth, but NSU (10-24) got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Elizabeth Castaneda (Montclair, Calif.) singled up the middle to score Gipsy Ramirez (LaVerne, Calif.) to get within two runs, 3-1.
Liberty exploded for five runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach for the Spartans. Katie Warrington picked up the win for the Flames after pitching seven innings and allowing two hits, one unearned run and striking out six batters. Castaneda fell to 3-4 on the year after tossing five innings while giving up three hits, seven runs (four earned) and walking five.
The Flames jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first four innings of the second game, but the Spartans countered in the bottom of the fourth with three runs. Danielle Wright (Safety Harbor, Fla.), who went 3-for-3 in the night cap, drove in the first run on a single to right field. A fielding error by shortstop Kelly Strickland allowed the Spartans to score their final two runs of the game.
Katrina Johnson pitched five innings in relief, yielding five hits, three runs (one earned) and striking out six for the win. Alyssa Velazquez (Aurora, Colo.) allowed seven hits and five earned runs in two and one-third innings in the losing effort. Castaneda tossed four and one-third innings in relief and surrendered eight hits and four earned runs.
Kaylee West went 3-for-3 with three RBI for Liberty in the second game, while Meredith Baiseden was 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
NSU travels to Princess Anne, Md. for a non-conference doubleheader against Maryland Eastern Shore at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
