NORFOLK, Va. – Alexis Robinson pitched a complete-game three-hit shutout, and No. 3 seed Norfolk State scored three times in the fifth inning to push past No. 4 seed Maryland Eastern Shore 4-0 in an elimination game of the 2022 MEAC Softball Championships on Thursday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field.

Robinson (17-4) did not walk a batter and cruised through the seven innings in just 76 pitches to help the Spartans (33-22) advance to another elimination game at noon Friday against No. 6 Coppin State. The Spartans defeated CSU 8-1 in the first round on Wednesday.

Robinson was matched for four innings by UMES pitcher Saje Kurpiela. The Spartans managed just two hits in the first four frames while the Hawks had just one, a single in the third. But the Hawks never put more than one base runner on in their seven frames against Robinson.

NSU's offense finally broke through in the fifth. Morgan Johnson started the rally with a one-out double, and she scored the first run of the game when Alison Guckin followed with a double of her own. Guckin stole third, and after Tuli Iosefa walked, pinch runner Victoria Ruiz stole second. Guckin scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Kenna Higa, and Gabby Vaughan put the Spartans ahead 3-0 with a sacrifice fly to plate Ruiz.

The Spartans added insurance in the sixth. Pinch hitter Cam Andersen singled and walks to Lauren Sheehan and Elizabeth Ritchie loaded the bases. Iosefa then drew a four-pitch walk to give NSU a 4-0 edge.

Robinson finished it from there, working around a two-out Hawk single in the seventh to finish off the win. She struck out two en route to her second shutout and sixth complete game of the year. With 17 wins this year, she is now tied with Alyssa Velasquez (2009) for the second-most pitching victories in a season in NSU's Division I era (since 1998).