ORANGEBURG, S.C. – It took one of the longest games in Spartan history, but the Norfolk State softball team was able to come away with a 5-2 win over North Carolina A&T on Saturday afternoon at Orangeburg Recreation Park.
The Spartans tied the score with a run in the sixth, and both teams went scoreless in the first three extra innings before a four-spot for NSU in the 11
th did the rest. The team's second game of the MEAC Round-Up this weekend tied for the longest contest in school history. Three other times NSU has been an 11-inning game, most recently in 2019 at Hampton.
NSU picked up a key win in conference play, improving to 8-6 in the league and 15-13 overall. It was also the second straight day the Spartans played a game that went at least 10 innings after falling in 10 frames on Friday to South Carolina State.
All four runs in the 11
th scored on one play. With the bases loaded and no outs, senior
Jazzmaine Hammond tripled to center field for a pair of RBI. Both she and sophomore
Imani Moore, who was on first when the play started, scored thanks to an error on the catcher.
Sophomore
Alexis Robinson (4-5) benefitted from Hammond's big hit. She pitched eight innings of relief and allowed just two hits and one unearned run, that coming in the bottom of the 11
th, with four strikeouts. The loss dropped the Aggies to 8-22 overall, 8-3 in the MEAC.
Sophomore
Cam Andersen hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth for NSU's only run in those first 10 innings of play. That tied the score at 1-1 after the Aggies had hit an RBI double in the fourth. They also plated a run in the bottom of the 11
th but could get no closer than the final three-run margin.
Hammond had a pair of hits on Saturday against the Aggies after going 4-for-4 on Friday. Andersen went 2-for-4 as well, although the Spartans finished with just six hits against A&T. Robinson and NSU starter
Kennedy Cameron limited the Aggies to just four hits.
A&T's S'Niyah Stinson got a no-decision after pitching 9.2 innings and giving up five hits and one unearned run. She did issue nine walks, although the Spartans stranded 14 runners for the afternoon, just one off the school record of 15. Kayla Douglas (0-1) took the loss in relief.
NSU will wrap up the three-day round-up with a Sunday morning contest against North Carolina Central beginning at 10 a.m.