NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State baseball team hit three home runs on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't enough to come away with a victory as the Spartans fell 10-4 against FDU.
Five errors cost Norfolk State (11-35, 6-21) in the ballgame, while FDU (18-27, 13-13) tallied 15 hits on the day, including several in key moments.
Starting pitcher
Noah Wiggins needed just six pitches to dispatch the top of the FDU lineup, producing a three-pitch strikeout followed by a pair of flyouts to open the game.
The Spartans kept things rolling from there. After working a full-count,
Jamal Ritter won the leadoff battle with a home run to right field, getting Norfolk State on the board first.
Wiggins got out of a threatening jam in the second inning to keep the Knights scoreless but couldn't muster the same dominance in the third. A double down the right field line tied the game 1-1, before a wild pitch and ensuing single put FDU ahead by two.
Collin Curry answered back in the bottom half of the inning, launching a solo shot to left field – his fourth homer of the season.
A fifth inning error preceded three unearned runs from FDU in the fifth inning, closing Wiggins' day on the mound. Joe LaFave took over from there, getting out of a sixth-inning jam with a lineout double play and a strikeout.
After the Knights loaded the bases with one out on the board,
Parker Hampton entered the game and immediately got Norfolk State out of the situation unscathed. A fielder's choice got one baserunner out at home, before catcher
Manny Jackson reacted quickly to a wild pitch to get another out at the plate.
The play marked one of many for Jackson, who threw out four baserunners on Saturday afternoon.
Defensive mistakes continued to cost the Spartans, however. Three errors in the eighth inning helped FDU add five runs to its total, furthering the gap for NSU to overcome.
Swaroop Pujari got ahold of a pitch for his second home run of the year, a two-run shot bringing the score to 10-4. The Spartans loaded the bases with two outs in a late rally effort, but a timely strikeout got FDU to the ninth with no further damage.
Norfolk State couldn't get anything going in the ninth inning, as Ian Barrett closed things out on the mound for FDU's third consecutive win.
UP NEXT
The Spartans head to Raleigh, N.C. for a nonconference matchup against NC State of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) on Tuesday, May 7. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m.
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