Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NORFOLK, Va. – George Mason rallied to win in extra innings in game 1, and numerous self-inflicted wounds sent the Norfolk State softball team to a doubleheader loss to the Patriots on Wednesday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field.

GMU rallied to score three runs in the seventh in the first game, and the Patriots added two more in the ninth for a 7-5 win. Then in game 2, the Spartans fell behind by an 8-0 score but came almost all the way back before falling just short, 8-7.

Along the way, senior Morgan Boyd became NSU's all-time leader in hits after finishing the day 4-for-8.

Norfolk State (11-15), though, let a chance of a doubleheader sweep get away from them in both games, especially in the first contest.

Down 5-1, the Patriots got a run back in the fourth on Lauren McColgan's RBI single and then tied it up with three runs in the seventh. Brooke Blankenship's two-run double to the wall in left field plated two, and Casey Price dropped one over the second baseman's head to tie it up.

In the eighth, junior Liz Riley threw out the potential GMU go-ahead run at home, and the Spartans threatened with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the frame. Freshman Devon Bitler, though, got caught too far off the second base bag on a pop up, sending the game into the ninth.

The Patriots (12-13) eventually put two runners into scoring position, and a bad throw on a fielder's choice scored both to put George Mason up for good.

Christina Gabriele (3-4) shut NSU down after the Spartans scored all five runs in the first two innings, pitching 7.1 scoreless innings in relief and giving up just two hits with six strikeouts.

An RBI double got George Mason on the board in the first, but the Spartans answered in the bottom of the frame when freshman Kayla McNair took a pitch up and out over the plate and deposited her fourth home run of the year over the left-center field fence.

The Spartans scored three more in the second inning thanks to a call from the umps that went their way. With junior Alina Moriarty on second and Boyd on first, sophomore Heather Dunning smacked one into left center, but Moriarty was thrown out at the plate. It was ruled, though, that the shortstop had interfered with Moriarty while she was heading to third, and her run counted.

Junior Robyn Mitchell followed with a shot right past starting pitcher Anna Blessing to plate two more.

Senior Jamie Schulle (9-6) suffered the loss after giving up 10 hits and seven runs, five earned, in all nine innings.

The Spartans stubbed their toes early in game 2, as the Patriots put four runs on the board in the first inning thanks to just one hit, two walks and two errors, three wild pitches and one passed ball on the Spartans.

An RBI groundout in the second and a bases-loaded walk and sac fly in the third put the Patriots up 7-0, and an RBI triple in the fourth completed their scoring for the second contest.

That was when NSU finally came alive.

Freshman Mikki Haury launched her second homer of the year in the bottom of the fourth with a runner on base to get the Spartans on the board.

In the fifth, starting pitcher Casey Herring (4-3) got the first two outs before the Spartans scored three. Back-to-back singles by Mitchell and McNair began the rally, and a wild pitch moved them into scoring position. Sophomore Whitney Williams singled into right field to score the first run, and an overthrow at the plate brought home the second.

Moriarty hit a double to the right field wall for the third run of the inning.

Relief pitcher Stephanie Maher got out of a jam in the sixth, but the Spartans rallied again in the seventh.

McNair and Williams singled to start the inning, and a wild pitch again moved runners to second and third. Moriarty hit an RBI groundout, and a wild pitch on ball four to Haury made it 8-7. Maher, though, got the last two outs to preserve the victory for GMU.

McNair and Williams each went 3-for-4 in the second game, and McNair joined Boyd as the only two NSU players with four hits on the day. Moriarty and Haury each drove in two runs, and Mitchell and McNair did the same in the first game.

The Spartans finished with 22 hits on the day.

NSU will head to UMES this weekend to resume conference play. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at noon.