Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University softball team won both games of its doubleheader against George Mason on Wednesday at the Lady Pirates Softball Complex, taking the first game 10-5 before winning the second game 3-2 in walk-off fashion.

The Lady Pirates (8-14) have won four of their last six games.

Hampton fell behind 1-0 after the top of the first inning in the first game, but bounced back with five runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-1 lead. Senior Sharde' Estep (Aquasco, Md.) singled home three runs to get the Lady Pirates on the board, before senior Brooke Boykin (Riverside, Calif.) and junior Nina Ferguson (Plymouth, Minn.) added RBI singles of their own.

After the Patriots scored a run in the top of the third to cut Hampton's lead to 5-2, the Lady Pirates answered with a run in the bottom of the frame. Senior Travonna Byrd (Newport News, Va.) led off the inning with a double down the left field line, before advancing to second on a groundout.

Boykin then singled Byrd home to put Hampton up 6-2.

Another George Mason run came across in the top of the fourth, but the Lady Pirates broke the game open in the bottom of the inning by pushing across four runs. Junior Carla Trimble (Riverside, Calif.) led off the inning with a home run to center field, her second of the season, before senior Bre'Anna Brown (Los Angeles, Calif.) singled home another run.

Boykin then doubled in yet another run, before Ferguson pushed across one more with a single up the middle to give Hampton a 10-3 lead.

The Patriots scored once each in the fifth and seventh innings.

Byrd went 6.2 innings in picking up her fourth win of the season, striking out four and giving up just one earned run.

Boykin went 4-for-4 at the plate, driving in three runs. Ferguson went 4-for-5, driving in a pair of runs, while Estep also pushed across three runs to go along with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate.

In all, the Lady Pirates had a season-high 19 hits in the first game.

The Patriots jumped out to another 1-0 lead in the first inning of the second game on a Samantha Barney RBI single, but the Lady Pirates tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third on a Ferguson sacrifice fly.

Ferguson then doubled in the fifth to give Hampton a 2-1, before George Mason scored a run in the top of the sixth to tie the game a 2-2.

After Brown led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left field, the Patriots intentionally walked Ferguson. Junior Kelsei Saunders (Suffolk, Va.) came in as a pinch hitter, after which Brown and Ferguson advanced on a passed ball.

With Brown on third base and Ferguson on second, Saunders grounded out to third base – but the speed of the ball, and the angle the defender had to the plate – allowed Brown to score the game-winning run as the only play was to first base.

Freshman Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) went the distance in picking up her fourth win of the season, striking out four and walking just one. She scattered five hits and two earned runs.

Brown had two hits, while Ferguson drove in two runs.

Boykin went a combined 5-for-7 at the plate in the doubleheader with three RBIs, while Ferguson also went 5-for-7 with four runs driven in.

The Lady Pirates will return to action on Friday, when they begin their annual Lady Pirates Classic at the Lady Pirates Softball Complex at 1 p.m. against Maryland Eastern Shore. For more information on Hampton University softball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.