Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team won a pair of nail biters against Savannah State, sweeping the Tigers, 6-5, 3-2, Monday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field.

Freshman Nikki Jones singled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to score the winning run in Game 1 after NSU had rallied from an early 3-0 deficit. The Spartans improved to 7-13 overall on the season with the Game 2 victory as senior Alyssa Velazquez shut down the offense of Savannah State (10-20).

Velazquez gave up five hits, two earned runs and struck out four to earn her second win of the year. Senior left fielder Jeanette Sauceda went 3-for-3 at the plate and doubled home the eventual winning run in the fifth inning. In Game 1, NSU pounded out 13 hits, including three in the Spartans' final at bat in the seventh after the Tigers had pushed across the tying run in the top half of the inning.

Junior Elizabeth Castaneda (1-2) earned the win, giving up two earned runs on six hits in 3.1 innings in relief of junior starter Casey Pomeroy. Madison Hedderly (7-11) suffered the loss in Game 1, giving up six runs, three earned, on 13 hits with seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Tiffany Davies (2-13) gave up all eight hits in Game 2 for the Tigers, allowing three runs, one earned, in six innings.

Junior Whitney Holland went 3-for-4 with two RBI in Game 1, while Velazquez, Jones and sophomore Gipsy Ramirez each added two hits. Jones added a pair of RBI, including her first home run of the season in the sixth inning. Junior Danielle Wright had a pair of hits in Game 2.

A bases loaded walked plated the first run for Savannah State in the first inning of Game 1 before the Tigers added two more in the second on a fielding error on the Spartans and an RBI single by India Morgan. NSU got one run back in its half of the inning when Ramirez hit an RBI groundout with the bases loaded.

Holland doubled into the right field corner in the bottom of the third inning to score Sauceda to make it 3-2 in favor of Savannah State. NSU tied the score at 3-3 in the fifth when Holland singled back up the middle to score freshman catcher Kathy Cortez.

The Tigers pulled back ahead in the sixth when Morgan singled into left field for her second RBI of the game, but the Spartans had the answer in the bottom half of the inning. Jones pinch hit to lead off the inning and proceeded to line a 1-2 pitch over the center field fence. Wright hit an infield single in the next at bat, stole second, and then scored when the Savannah State second baseman could not handle the ball off the bat of Cortez.

Savannah State wasted little time in tying the score in the top of the seventh, though, as Mariah Tutt crossed the plate when Chelsea Parrish singled into right field with no outs. The Tigers moved runners over to second and third with one out, but Castaneda got Amber Wright to swing at strike three and forced Jessica Weimserskirk to fly out to right field to end the threat.

Holland opened the bottom of the seventh with her third hit of the game, another single past the pitcher and into center field. Two outs later, Ramirez singled into right field to move pinch runner Meagan Long to second. Jones then hit a blooper to center, and Long was able to score when the throw from Savannah State center fielder Morgan was off the mark.

Morgan, Hedderly, Parrish and shortstop Tiffany Taylor all had two hits for the Tigers in Game 1. As a team, Savannah State totaled 12 hits in the contest.

In the second game, the Tigers again got out to an early lead, as Shannon Reno homered down the left field line with two outs for the early 1-0 advantage. The Spartans tied it up in the fourth inning when freshman first baseman Melina Valles hit a sacrifice fly to left to score Jones, who had singled to lead off the inning and got to third when the left fielder let the ball go under her glove.

Then, with one out in the fifth, Wright singled into left field, stole her 13th base of the season and came around to score when the Tiger right fielder misplayed a fly ball off the bat of Cortez. Sauceda doubled into the left field corner to score Cortez for the 3-1 lead.

Hedderly homered to center field in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to one, 3-2, but Velazquez recorded five straight outs after that to preserve the win.

NSU will return to its home field Wednesday as UMES comes to town for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.