BALTIMORE, Md. – The Hampton University softball team split a conference doubleheader against Morgan State on Thursday at Lois T. Murray Field, winning the second game 10-4 after falling 3-2 in the first game.
The Lady Pirates (12-17, 4-1 MEAC) have won seven of their last eight games.
Hampton took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning in the first game, thanks to a double down the right field line from junior
Taylor McCoy (Riverview, Fla.) that scored junior
Diamond Ponds (Riverside, Calif.), but a Kate Vosper home run in the bottom of the frame tied things at 1-1.
Vosper added an RBI single in the fifth to give Morgan State a 2-1 lead, but the Lady Pirates tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the seventh after senior Kerrisa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.) singled up the middle to bring home junior
McKalee Rouse (Aledo, Texas).
An RBI double from Vosper in the bottom of the seventh gave Morgan State the walkoff win and handed Hampton its first conference loss of the season.
McCoy was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate in the first game with an RBI.
Senior
Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) struck out six batters in 6.1 innings.
The Lady Pirates got on the board in the top of the first inning, when
Margaret Wilkins (Tustin, Calif.) scored on a sacrifice fly from freshman
Allyson Babinsack (Hampton, Va.) to give Hampton a 1-0 lead.
Hampton then pushed across six runs in the second inning, starting with a double from Burruel that scored freshman
Jada Fields (Woodland Park, N.J.). Freshman
Lorena Alvarez (Saddle Brook, N.J.) followed with a single to left field that scored Burruel, before Alvarez scored on a double from Wilkins.
McCoy followed with a two-run double, continuing her hot streak, and Fields added an RBI single that brought in McCoy and put the Lady Pirates up 7-0.
Kimberley Fontaine put Morgan State on the board in the bottom of the second with a home run, cutting the lead to 7-1, but the Lady Pirates answered in the top of the fifth inning with three more runs, starting with a double from Burruel that brought in Fields.
Burruel then scored on a two-run blast from sophomore
Danielle Budden (Jackson, N.J.), her second of the season, that put Hampton on top 10-1.
A trio of walks in the bottom of the fifth allowed Morgan State to score three times and cut the lead to 10-4, but that was as close as the Lady Bears would get.
Fields went 3-for-3 at the plate in the second game, while Wilkins, McCoy, Burruel, and Alvarez each had two hits. Wilkins is boasting an eight-game hitting streak, while McCoy has now hit safely in each of her last seven games.
McCoy, Burruel, and Budden each drove in two runs.
Babinsack picked up her eighth win of the season, striking out four in five innings.
These two teams will play once more on Friday at 3 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.
