EASTON, Mass. – The Norfolk State baseball team got its final road series of the regular season off to a great start, taking down Stonehill 6-4 on Friday afternoon at Lou Gorman Field.
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The Spartans (12-36, 7-21 NEC) knocked out two home runs in the victory, playing a balanced ballgame to hand Stonehill (16-25, 11-14) its second consecutive loss.
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Manny Jackson got things going for the Spartans with a double to left center, driving in
Justin Journette from second base in the game's opening inning.
Kydese Queen singled moments later, as Jackson crossed home plate to give Norfolk State a quick 2-0 advantage.
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Stonehill responded with a solo home run in the Skyhawks' third at-bat of the day, but Norfolk State regrouped quickly. After
Swaroop Pujari and
Jalan Jones got on base in the second inning, Journette launched his 14
th home run of the season, adding three runs to the Spartans' total.
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Stonehill's second home run of the day cut the gap to 5-2 in the fourth inning. The deep battle continued in Norfolk State's next chance at the plate, as Jackson crushed a solo shot to right field.
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Stonehill got one more back in the bottom of the fifth. The Skyhawks threatened in the sixth inning, but a nifty double play from Pujari helped NSU limit the damage to just a single run, going into the seventh with a 6-4 lead.
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Starting pitcher
Dalton Barham struck out two batters in the seventh to close out a strong day, tallying seven strikeouts for the afternoon.
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Ethan Blakeney took the mound for the final two innings, stepping up to the challenge. The freshman tossed two scoreless innings for his third save of the season, posting two strikeouts without allowing any hits.
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UP NEXT
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Norfolk State and Stonehill will continue the series on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
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For complete coverage of Norfolk State Athletics, please follow the Spartans on social media at @nsuspartans (Twitter), /NorfolkStateAthletics (Facebook), @NSUAthletics (Instagram), @nsuathletics (YouTube) or visit the official home of Norfolk State Athletics at nsuspartans.com.
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