Box Score WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Norfolk State softball team needed an extra inning at the end of the day, but the Spartans scored a pair of runs late to top Howard by a 4-2 margin on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Youth Academy.
 
The rubber match of the series saw NSU rally from one run down later in the game. After holding off the Bison in the seventh, the Spartans finally went ahead for good in the eighth.
 
Sophomore Seana Moriarty walked with one out and scored when senior Whitney Williams lined a double to left that Howard left fielder Al'Asia Davis had momentarily before slamming hard into the wall. Williams later went to third and then scored on senior Megan Dunning's sac fly.
 
Spartan starter Megan Przeslawski worked around a double by Jasmine Gammons in the bottom of the eighth to complete the win.
 
She struck out six and allowed five hits and two unearned runs to even her record at 4-4.
 
NSU, meanwhile, improved to 8-4 in the MEAC and 14-19 overall. The Spartans maintained second place in the MEAC Northern Division behind league leader Delaware State.
 
Howard, meanwhile, fell to 2-7 in the league and 6-27 overall.
 
The Bison nearly took the first lead of the game when they loaded the bases with one out in the first inning. Howard was unable to push home a run, and then in the fourth, NSU scored the first run of the game. Dunning fouled off several pitches before hitting her team-leading 11^th double to the left field corner, and Przeslawski followed with a single through the hole between first and second for the 1-0 advantage.
 
The Bison, though, manufactured two runs in the bottom of the frame. Gammons singled with one out and eventually reached third and then home on a passed ball and wild pitch. Then with a runner on second, the Bison got a bunt single in front of the plate and scored the second run of the inning when the ball got away from Moriarty covering first.
 
The Spartans got the run back in the sixth to eventually force extra innings. Williams led off with a screaming double to the wall in right center. She moved to third on a groundout and scored when Dunning hit a sac fly almost to the 200-foot sign down the left field line.
 
Howard had a pair of infield hits with two outs in the bottom of the seventh before Przeslawski retired the last batter of the inning.
 
Williams finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Przeslawski also had two of the team's five hits in the game, while Dunning drove in two runs on two sac flies.
 
Gammons had two of Howard's five hits as well. Howard starter Janessa Flynn (4-12) took the loss despite giving up five hits and four runs, three earned, with five strikeouts in all eight innings.
 
NSU will travel to Longwood on Tuesday for a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.