DOVER, Del. – Norfolk State split a road doubleheader with Delaware State on Saturday, with the Spartans taking game one 7-3 before falling in game two, 16-6, at Soldier Field.
The Spartans are now 10-17 overall, 6-5 in the MEAC North follow Saturday's double-dip. The Hornets are 10-16, 5-6.
Outfielder
Caleb Ward paced the Spartan offense with six runs batted in on the afternoon, including four coming in the game one victory. He and
Stephen Baughan tallied three hits apiece over the course of the doubleheader.
In the opener, the Spartans used a four-run fifth inning to take control of the game. DSU took a short-lived 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a Jared Gillis RBI double before the Spartans claimed the lead in the top of the fifth.
Mikey Delgado led off the inning with a single and
Justin Hayes reached on an error. Both scored on Ward's two-run double.
Ward would eventually score on a squeeze bunt by
Adam Collins. Baughan, who singled earlier in the inning, scored on a two-out infield hit off the bat of
Brandon Crosby to make it 4-1.
Spartan outfielder
Dionte Brown doubled to start the sixth and scored on the first of two sacrifice flies by Ward.
The Hornets cut their deficit to 5-3 after scoring twice in the bottom of the sixth. But Ward's second sac fly and Baughan's RBI double, both coming in the eighth, gave the Spartans breathing room and accounted for the final margin.
Baughan batted 2-for-5, Delgado 2-for-4 and Ward 1-for-3 with four RBIs in the opener. That made a winner out of starting pitcher
Chase Anderson (3-2), who won his team-best third game of the season. Anderson struck out nine and allowed seven hits and three runs over six innings.
Seth Hockett pitched the final three innings scoreless to pick up his first save of the season.
The nightcap would be a different story, as the Hornets amassed 20 hits and scored the game's final nine runs to win after eight innings by the 10-run rule.
Things started off well for NSU, as
Korey Singh hit a two-run double in the top of the first. But the Hornets scored seven runs in their first two innings and never trailed again. Cole Garey hit an RBI single in the Hornets' four-run first and singled in two more in a three-run DSU second.
The Spartans cut their deficit to 7-6 in the fourth thanks to two-run singles by both
Justin Hayes and Ward. But the final four innings were all DSU. The Hornets scored three in the fifth, fourth in the seventh and two in the eighth to pull away.
John Weglarz and Tommy Jordan had four hits apiece and Rich Rountree added three to lead the Hornets' 20-hit attack.
Ward was 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the nightcap. Hayes went 1-for-2 with a stolen base, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Austin Warrington (1-4) earned the win in relief for the Hornets. He allowed just two hits and no runs over the final 4.1 innings pitched, striking out five.
Ridge Walker (2-6) took the loss for the Spartans. He allowed nine hits and seven runs (five earned) over 1.2 innings.
The teams play the rubber game of the series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
