NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team was one bases-loaded play away from walking off the NSU Softball Field with a sweep of Morehead State on Sunday afternoon. Instead, the Spartans had to settle for a second straight split with the Eagles.
NSU scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth in game 1 for a 5-3 win. The Spartans had the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh in game 2, but the Eagles were able to prevail in extra innings, 3-2.
Both teams ran their records to 2-2 on the year after they began their seasons with a doubleheader split on Saturday as well. The Spartans limited the Eagles to just nine hits on Sunday over the course of both games and had 17 themselves.
Sophomore
Cam Andersen got the win in the first game after allowing two unearned runs in four innings of relief. Morehead State had scored two runs in the sixth to tie the game before NSU won it later in the frame.
The Spartans went into the sixth ahead 3-1. Both teams plated a run in the first, and senior
Tuli Iosefa hit a two-run single in the fifth to put the Spartans ahead. MSU's Peyton Jordan hit a two-run triple in the sixth to tie it up at 3-3, but NSU had an answer.
A pair of singles put runners on first and third with one out, and senior
Jazzmaine Hammond doubled past the third base bag to score both. Andersen (1-0) then worked around an error in the seventh to seal the win.
Iosefa had a pair of RBI in the game as did Hammond, and seniors
Shelby DesChamps and
Jade Dixon each had two hits. Junior
Joana Holland had five strikeouts in three innings to start the game but got the no-decision.
Iosefa had two hits in the second game when NSU outhit the Eagles 9-4. But Morehead State got out of a jam in the seventh and scored two in the eighth for the win.
The Eagles led 1-0 before the Spartans tied it up in the fifth on sophomore
Morgan Johnson's solo home run to left. They then had a pair of two-out hits in the seventh to nearly come away with the victory.
DesChamps beat out a single to third after freshman
Kerris Cameron had singled sophomore
Morgan Hatcher to third to put runners on the corners. But winning pitcher Lennon Spicer induced a groundout back to the circle to keep the score tied at 1-1.
An error on a sac bunt attempt allowed the Eagles to take the lead in the eighth, and they added another run for a 3-1 advantage. Iosefa delivered with an RBI single in the eighth, but Spicer got the last out of the game to preserve the win.
Sophomore
Alexis Robinson (0-2) took the loss after allowing two unearned runs in 3.2 innings of relief with four strikeouts.
NSU will host Youngstown State next Friday and Saturday for two more doubleheaders at the NSU Softball Field.