NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team gave up six runs in two innings on the way to an 8-2 loss to Hartford on Saturday afternoon in the 2017 Spartan Classic. The Spartans were able to rebound in their second game of the day, shutting out Buffalo 4-0 to earn a split on the first day of the tournament at the NSU Softball Field.
 
NSU (2-2) managed just eight hits on the day, four in each game, and four of Hartford's eight runs were unearned. The Spartans played errorless ball in the second game, and sophomore Hunter Halford shut down the Bulls to earn the win.
 
She scattered five hits in all seven innings, and Buffalo (1-7) never seriously mounted a rally until the top of the seventh. But she worked out of that jam to preserve the zero on the scoreboard.
 
Freshman Meaghan Barfield gave NSU an early lead with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first. Then in the third, junior Seana Moriarty scored on an illegal pitch, and junior Jaylene Pryor came home in the next at bat when Barfield reached on an error.
 
Now up 3-0, Halford (2-0) allowed just one base runner in the next three innings, and the Spartans tacked on one more run. Sophomore Kylee Lopez singled to lead off the fourth and eventually scored on a double off the bat of senior Devon Bitler.
 
In the seventh, the Bulls got back-to-back singles from Karlie Fernandez and Jenelle Martinez with two outs to mount a short rally, but it ended when Halford secured her third strikeout of the game in the very next at bat.
 
Moriarty scored two runs in the game.
 
NSU scored the first run of the game against Hartford thanks to some aggressive base running from sophomore Shelby DesChamps. She led off the game with a walk and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. She kept going all the way to third on the hit, and a wild throw from first to third sailed down the left field line and allowed her to score.
 
After an error on NSU extended the second inning, Kylie Dazalla hit a two-run single for the Hawks as part of a three-run frame. Lexi Wilkerson then made it 6-1 with a three-run blast to left field in the top of the third.
 
Hartford (1-1) added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, and NSU scored its last run in the sixth thanks to two walks and two hit-by-pitches in a four at-bat span.
 
Bitler had two hits in the game and three on the day, the only Spartan with more than one.
 
Melissa Pereira (1-0) gave up two hits and two earned runs with four strikeouts in six innings of work for the Hawks. Most of the damage came at the top of the lineup, including from Dazalla (1-for-3, two RBI), Wilkerson (1-for-4, three RBI) and Danielle DeMarco (3-for-4). The 5 through 9 hitters batted a collective 1-for-12.
 
NSU takes on Hartford and Buffalo again on Sunday, with the Spartans playing Buffalo at noon and Hartford at 2:30 p.m. to close out the tournament.