George Washington Box Score | Monmouth Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team dropped a pair of games Saturday afternoon, falling to George Washington, 4-2, and Monmouth, 6-5, in the 2011 Spartan Invitational at the NSU Softball Field.

On the second day of the tournament, the losses – NSU's fourth and fifth straight on the season – dropped the Spartans to 2-5 on the year, while George Washington improved to 1-1 and the Hawks moved to 2-0 in their first day of action.

Junior Casey Pomeroy pitched a total of five innings in the first game against the Colonials, giving up just two runs, one earned, on four hits. Junior Elizabeth Castaneda (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing two earned runs in two innings. Kara Clauss came on in relief of George Washington starter Heidi Penna and got the win, pitching 2.2 scoreless innings. Penna gave up two earned runs on six hits in 4.1 innings.

In the second game of the day for NSU, the Hawks scored all of their runs in the fourth inning – on three separate home runs – half an inning after the Spartans had tallied five runs in the bottom of the third. Freshman Jamie Schulle gave up five earned runs on five hits in 5.1 innings, while Castaneda gave up the last earned run and suffered her second loss of the season.

NSU jumped on top of the Colonials in the first game, scoring both of their runs in the first inning. Junior center fielder Danielle Wright singled between shortstop and third base to open the frame, and then beat the throw to second as freshman Nikki Jones reached on a fielder's choice. After a passed ball advanced them into scoring position, senior third baseman Jeanette Sauceda brought Wright home with a sacrifice fly to left field before freshman first baseman Melina Valles plated the second run with an RBI groundout.

Katie Terrazas doubled into the left field corner in the top of the third off starter Pomeroy to cut the lead to one, 2-1, before the Colonials took the lead for good in the top of the sixth. Castaneda, who had relieved Pomeroy in the fourth inning, walked the first two batters before Pomeroy returned to the circle.

An infield single by Courtney Martin after a sacrifice bunt tied it up at 2-2, and then Lacey Cook's sac fly to right gave George Washington the lead for good. The Colonials scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh for the final margin.

After two scoreless innings in NSU's contest against Monmouth, the Spartan bats exploded in the bottom of the third, all with two outs. Schulle reached on an error by the center fielder to lead off the inning, and two outs later, Wright doubled over the left fielder's head to score the first run.

Jones hit an infield single, and Wright came home after an errant throw on the second baseman. Freshman catcher Kathy Cortez and Sauceda then hit back-to-back singles to score Jones. Valles stroked a single to left field to load the bases, and then junior second baseman Candice Vasquez singled down the left-field line to plate the last two runs of the inning.

Emily deLong led off the top of the fourth with a solo homer to center field for the Hawks, and the wheels fell off the bus for the Spartans from there. The next two hitters for Monmouth singled, and one out later, Kate Kuzma launched one to left center to cut the deficit to four, 5-4.

Chelsea Paprocki immediately doubled into the left field corner, and Castaneda relieved Schulle and surrendered a two-run shot to Katie Schumacher for the final runs of the game.

The last day of the Spartan Invitational will resume Sunday at 9 a.m., while NSU will be back on the field at 3 p.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson.