Box Score ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Junior Kathy Cortez lined a two-run single with one out in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Norfolk State softball team to an 8-7 win over Florida A&M on Friday morning at the MEAC Championship at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.

The come-from-behind, walk-off victory, NSU's second in a row at the tournament, advanced the Spartans to the next round of the loser's bracket at 3 p.m. against Delaware State.

After freshman Whitney Williams hit a walk-off, two-run homer in the ninth against Coppin State the previous night, the Spartans found themselves in similar position after Florida A&M erased a 6-4 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth.

An RBI single scored one run for the Rattlers in that sixth inning, and two more runs came home on a throwing error on a steal attempt and a sacrifice fly to center.

After FAMU recorded the first out of the seventh, some mistakes on the Rattlers gave the Spartans some life. Sophomore Alina Moriarty reached on a bad throw by the FAMU shortstop, and then Williams hit a one-hopper back to pitcher Jennifer Lindsey. Eager to turn a double play, Lindsey threw the ball into center field before either the shortstop or second baseman could get to the bag, allowing Moriarty to take third.

FAMU intentionally walked sophomore Haley Ward, and Cortez followed with a single to shallow center that scored both Moriarty and Williams thanks to an outfield that was playing fairly deep.

NSU improved to 28-21 overall this year, while Florida A&M fell to 20-32.

Junior Jamie Schulle earned the victory for NSU, her Division I record 18th of the season. She allowed seven runs, five earned, on eight hits in all seven innings.

Lindsey (13-20) suffered the loss after giving up eight runs, six earned, on 10 hits.

NSU battled back twice earlier in the game, the first time after Florida A&M made Schulle pay for issuing back-to-back walks to start the game. Brielle Gordon poked one into left center to bring home the first run of the game.

Schulle, though, got out of the inning with no more damage, and NSU gave her the lead in the bottom half of the first. Freshman Heather Dunning slapped one down the left field line, and Moriarty brought her home with a deep shot to the wall in right center. Ward then followed with another double, this one a one-hopper over the left center field fence, for a 2-1 lead.

An RBI groundout for FAMU tied it up in the second inning, and then the Rattlers scored two more in the third on an RBI double and an error on the Spartans to go up by a 4-2 advantage over NSU.

The Spartans responded in the fourth, though, loading the bases with one out on a single by Ward, a ground rule double from senior Chelsea Davis and a walk issued to junior Melina Valles. After Lindsey got the second out of the inning on a force at home, pinch hitter Robyn Mitchell smacked one back up the middle to plate a pair.

After junior Morgan Boyd reentered the game and stole second, Dunning followed with a two-run single just underneath the first baseman's glove for a 6-4 lead.

The Rattlers scored two innings later in the sixth before NSU made its final comeback.

Dunning and Cortez each went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Ward also had a pair of hits.