Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team nearly completed the comeback in game 1 on Thursday afternoon against George Washington at the NSU Softball Field. The Colonials held on, though, and then completed the doubleheader sweep with a shutout of the Spartans in the second contest.
 
The Spartans rallied late in the first game, nearly overcoming a six-run deficit before George Washington won, 7-6. The Colonials shut out NSU in the second game, 5-0.
 
The Spartans made it interesting late in game 1. Down 6-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth, they got a run back, and almost more. A pair of walks sandwiched around an infield single by junior center fielder Heather Dunning loaded the bases with one out. Senior right fielder Alina Moriarty lofted a deep fly ball that was caught by the center fielder right at the wall, scoring senior Robyn Mitchell.
 
The Colonials tacked on one more run in the sixth for a 7-1 lead, but the Spartans answered with two runs of their own when junior Hannah Haustein lofted a single into left center to plate senior Sommer Di Fulgo and freshman Seana Moriarty. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Alina Moriarty hit a solo homer, and Di Fulgo blasted a two-run shot later in the inning near the left field foul pole.
 
Haustein walked and senior Liz Riley singled to right field to put runners on the corners with two outs, but GW starter Paige Kovalsky (3-0) struck out Mitchell to end the game.
 
The Colonials (10-8) built up their early lead thanks to a five-run fourth inning in which they hit four different RBI singles. Heads up base running on an infield single scored another run for the Colonials in the fifth before NSU (0-8) mounted its comeback.
 
Dunning, Di Fulgo and both Moriarty sisters had two hits in the first game. Di Fulgo, Haustein and Alina Moriarty each drove in a pair of runs. Freshman Megan Przeslawski had three hits on the day after hitting a pair of singles in game 2.
 
In that second game, the Colonials scored first in the top of the second on an RBI bloop single by Morgan Rinehart. They tallied another run in the fourth, but NSU threatened in its half of the frame. Starter Sarah Costlow (7-6), though, struck out the last two batters of the inning with the bases full to keep the Spartans scoreless.
 
Costlow struck out five and allowed six hits in all seven innings of work.
 
George Washington tacked on two more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth for the final scoring of the day.
 
NSU will play in the Blue and Gold Tournament this weekend at North Carolina A&T.