Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NORFOLK, Va. – Senior Danielle Wright hit a two-out, solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, and freshman Alina Moriarty drove home the winning run in the eighth to give the Norfolk State softball team a doubleheader sweep of George Mason, 6-5, 3-2, Tuesday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field.

Down 2-1 heading into the seventh, Wright blasted a solo homer over the left field fence to tie it up at 2-2. NSU loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with one out, and Moriarty smacked a single to short to bring home the winning run and complete the comeback.

Moriarty hit a two-run single in Game 1 to help the Spartans earn an eventual 6-5 win. George Mason (6-12) plated a run in the top of the seventh to cut the deficit to 6-5, but relief pitcher Liz Riley got the Patriots to fly out to center field to hold on for the win in that first game.

The twinbill sweep moved NSU's win streak to five games now, and the Spartans improved to 7-5 on the season with the victories. After struggling in Game 1, sophomore Jamie Schulle (4-2) pitched a solid eight innings in the second game, allowing nine hits and four walks but just two runs, one earned.

Riley (3-3) won her third straight game in relief of Schulle in the first game, giving up five hits but just one unearned run in 3.1 innings of work. Riley also batted in what became the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth, as her single to center field put NSU up, 6-4.

Moriarty added a pair of hits in each game with three RBI total on the day, while Wright tallied three hits, including the team's only extra-base hit of the day, her all-important homer in the seventh.

The Spartans struck first in Game 1, as junior shortstop Gipsy Ramirez led off the frame with a single to center. A pair of walks with one out loaded the bases, and Moriarty added a two-run single to right to make it 2-0. George Mason starter Tiffany Harvell got out of the inning without any more damage, though, getting the next pair of outs to strand two NSU runners on base.

After the Spartans loaded the bases with no outs in the third but failed to get a run across the plate, the Patriots put four runs on the board in the top half of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead. Samantha Barney led off the inning with a double over Haley Ward's head in left, and Rachael Davies followed with a double down the right field line. Sophomore right fielder Morgan Boyd made a diving effort to make the catch, and that potential catch prevented Barney from scoring.

It did not matter, though, as catcher Emily Lafferty launched a homer to left field to clear the bases. Left fielder Cori Prince plated another run later in the inning when she placed an infield single in between Schulle and Moriarty at second to score third baseman Tori Rodriguez.

The Spartans immediately countered with three runs in the fourth, though, beginning with Moriarty's single to center to lead things off. One out later, Wright, Ward and senior Whitney Holland reached on three straight George Mason errors to tied it up at 4-4. In the same inning, sophomore catcher Kathy Cortez brought home Ward with a single up the middle that GMU's Mary O'Connor knocked down behind the bag. O'Connor threw out Holland at the plate trying to score from second on the same play to end the threat.

After Wright threw out Barney at the plate in the fifth to preserve the one-run lead, Riley made it 6-4 in the sixth with her RBI single. The Patriots scored one in the seventh before Riley held on for the win.

Schulle allowed four earned runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings in Game 1 and got the no-decision. Casey Herring (4-3) suffered the loss in relief, allowing three unearned runs in 2.1 innings of work. The two teams combined to strand 22 runners on base, including two by George Mason in each of the third, fourth and seventh innings.

The teams combined to leave 18 runners on base in the second game, including a pair in the first and third innings for the Spartans. NSU got on the board in the top of the first when Boyd walked and then scored from second two batters later on a single to center off the bat of Ward.

NSU left runners on the corners in the first and third innings, and the Patriots countered with a run in both the second and third frames. Rodriguez lined a single back up the middle to score Barney in the second. Center fielder Tori Dudley hit one six feet to the right of the foul pole in left for a solo homer in the third to put the Patriots up 2-1.

The Spartans got the first two runners on base in the fourth but failed to capitalize, and relief pitcher Stephanie Maher looked to be on her way to the save before Wright did the saving with two outs in the seventh with her first homer of the year.

In the eighth, with Ward placed on second to start the frame according to collegiate rules, the Spartans intentionally walked Holland to get to Ramirez. The Patriots tried to get Ward out at third to no avail on Ramirez' sacrifice bunt attempt. Two batters later, with the bases full and one out, Moriarty lined one to Davies at short. Davies knocked it down but was unable to get a throw to home in time from her knees as Ward scored the winning run.

Herring gave up just one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts in five innings to start Game 2 but earned the no-decision.

Lafftery went 3-for-4 in the first game with four RBI and Barney scored a pair of runs on two hits as well. Barney and center fielder Tori Dudley each had four hits on the day for the Patriots.

The Spartans will head to North Carolina A&T Wednesday morning to face the Aggies in a doubleheader at 2 p.m.