HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University softball team opened conference play on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep over Morgan State at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium, taking the first game 5-2 before winning the second game 10-1 in five innings.
 
The Lady Pirates (11-12, 2-0 MEAC) snapped a five-game losing streak.
 
Morgan State held a 1-0 after the top of the first inning of the first game, before the Lady Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from freshman Danielle Budden (Jackson, N.J.) – in what was just the start of a banner day for her.
 
Hampton took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, when redshirt-sophomore Raenelle Taylor (Aquasco, Md.) scored after junior Margaret Wilkins (Tustin, Calif.) reached on a fielder's choice.
 
Morgan State tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth, before the Lady Pirates struck the decisive blow in the bottom of the frame. After sophomore Diamond Ponds (Riverside, Calif.) reached on a fielder's choice and Wilkins walked, Budden cracked a three-run home run to give Hampton a 5-2 lead.
 
It was Budden's fourth homer of the season and her third in the past week.
 
Budden, Taylor, and sophomore McKalee Rouse (Aledo, Texas) each had two hits in the first game, and Budden drove in four runs.
 
Junior Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) picked up her seventh win of the season, striking out four batters and scattering six hits in a full seven innings of work.
 
Hampton wasted no time setting the tone in the second game, as junior Kerissa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.) hit her first home run of the season – a grand slam to left field that gave the Lady Pirates a 4-0 lead.
 
The Lady Pirates added three runs in the bottom of the second inning, starting with a single down the right field line from Wilkins that brought in Ponds. Budden followed that with an RBI triple to center, before sophomore Taylor McCoy (Riverview, Fla.) brought home Budden with a sacrifice fly to left field to put Hampton up 7-0.
 
Rouse doubled home a pair of runs in the third inning, before Wilkins tripled to right field to bring in Rouse and give the Lady Pirates a 10-0 lead.
 
Morgan State (3-11, 0-2 MEAC) scored its lone run in the top of the fifth inning.
 
Wilkins and freshman Taylor Clark (Queen Creek, Ariz.) each had three hits in the second game, while Burruel drove in four runs and Wilkins brought in another two.
 
Sophomore Jecholia Pratt (Orlando, Fla.) picked up her fourth win of the season after tossing a three-hit gem, striking out two in five innings.
 
The Lady Pirates will conclude their three-game set against Morgan State on Sunday at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium, with first pitch coming at 11 a.m. 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.