HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University softball team swept a doubleheader over Delaware State in its 2015 conference opener on Saturday at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium, taking the first game 9-0 in five innings before winning the second game 11-1.
 
The Lady Pirates (10-16, 2-0 MEAC) have won five straight games.
 
Hampton wasted no time, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the first game. Junior Taylor McCoy (Riverview, Fla.) started the scoring with a triple to right center field that brought in Margaret Wilkins (Tustin, Calif.), before McCoy scored on a double from freshman Allyson Babinsack (Hampton, Va.).
 
Wilkins had an RBI double of her own in the second to give Hampton a 3-0 lead.
 
The Lady Pirates broke the game open in the bottom of the third, pushing across six runs. Senior Kerrisa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.) got the scoring started with a double down the left field line with the bases loaded, bringing in three runs.
 
Later in the inning, with the bases loaded, junior Diamond Ponds (Riverside, Calif.) was hit by a pitch, bringing in Burruel and giving Hampton a 7-0 lead. Sophomore Taylor Clark (Queen Creek, Ariz.) later scored on a wild pitch, before Babinsack walked with the bases loaded to score Wilkins and put Hampton up 9-0.
 
Wilkins, Babinsack, and Burruel each had two hits in the first game; Burruel drove in three runs and Babinsack knocked in a pair.
 
Babinsack also struck out four en route to her seventh win of the season.
 
Like the first game, the Lady Pirates struck in the bottom of the first inning of the second game, when junior Jessica Reiman (Massillon, Ohio) singled to center field to bring in Ponds and give Hampton a 1-0 lead.
 
An RBI groundout from Ponds kicked off a four-run second for the Lady Pirates, before McCoy tripled to right center field to score two more runs. A double from Babinsack brought home McCoy and gave the Lady Pirates a 5-0 lead.
 
Three more runs scored in the bottom of the third, starting with a walk to Ponds with the bases loaded that scored Burruel. McCoy followed with a two-run single to give Hampton an 8-0 lead.
 
After the Hornets scored in the top of the fourth, the Lady Pirates answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning – thanks to Babinsack's third home run of the season, a shot to center field that scored McCoy and Ponds.
 
McCoy had a team-high three hits, while she and Babinsack each drove in four runs.
 
Senior Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) struck out a season-high seven batters and only gave up three hits in picking up her third win of the season.
 
The Lady Pirates will wrap up their three-game set with Delaware State on Sunday at 12 p.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.