NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team scored five runs in the fourth inning on the way to an 8-0, five-inning win over Howard in game 1 of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Bison returned the favor by taking game 2 by a 9-2 margin in a conference matchup at the NSU Softball Field.
 
The Spartans pounded out 11 hits in the first game and held the Bison to just four while winning by the eight-run rule. Howard, though, hit four home runs in the first inning of game 2 while keeping the Spartan offense at bay.
 
NSU won the series after taking Friday's opening game. The Spartans ran their overall record to 11-19 as well as 4-8 in the MEAC. Howard saw its conference record move to 2-10 and its overall mark improve to 2-26.
 
Senior Kayla McNair hit a three-run homer in the first game, on Senior Day no less, to help break the contest open. Junior Megan Przeslawski (4-10) pitched the shutout after striking out three and allowing four hits in all five innings of work.
 
McNair finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI, while freshman Meaghan Barfield hit 3-for-3. Senior Devon Bitler and junior Jaylene Pryor also had two RBI each to lead the onslaught.
 
Bitler scored the first run of the game in the third inning. She singled, stole second and went to third on a groundout. The Bison had Bitler in a rundown between third base and home plate after she strayed too far off the bag, but the senior was able to get around the tag and touch home plate for an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Spartan offense then exploded in the fourth. An error, followed by a single by Barfield, put runners on the corners. McNair then lofted a 2-2 pitch over the right field fence for a three-run jack, her fourth home run of the season. Sophomore Kylee Lopez followed with a double to center field, and sophomore Shelby DesChamps later hit an infield single to again put runners on the corners.
 
After a walk loaded the bases, Pryor lined one past the pitcher to score two more runs and make it 6-0.
 
Barfield and McNair singled to lead off the fifth, and the Spartans loaded the bases two outs later after DesChamps drew a walk. Bitler drove one into center field to plate a pair and end the game on the eight-run rule.
 
The tables turned in game 2, however. Alex Flynn drove the first pitch of the game over the center field fence to begin the scoring. Kamryn Tillman hit a two-run homer and Imani Ballard followed with a solo shot, and Chloe Lyon belted a two-run homer later in the inning for a 6-0 advantage.
 
The Spartans scored their runs on a fielder's choice in the third and a sac fly in the fifth. The Bison, though, also scored single runs in both of those innings as well as the sixth to complete the scoring.
 
Bitler had two of NSU's five hits in game 2 while finishing 4-for-7 on her Senior Day.
 
Tillman drove in three runs while hitting 3-for-3 for the Bison. Flynn (2-8) earned the win in the circle after pitching 4.1 innings and allowing four hits and two earned runs.
 
NSU will have next weekend off from competition before hitting the road for a mid-week three-game series at Coppin State on April 25-26.