Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Offense continued to shine as the Norfolk State softball team tallied 17 hits and completed a three-game sweep of Morgan State with a 13-7 victory Sunday afternoon at the NSU Softball Field.

Senior outfielder Danielle Wright led the way at the top of the lineup, going 4-for-5 with three runs and four RBI. NSU continued to solidify its berth in the MEAC tournament, improving to 7-2 in conference play and moving one step closer to .500 overall at 18-19. The Bears fell to 7-19, 1-8.

Wright was one of six players with at least two hits in the game, providing plenty of support for freshman Liz Riley, who got the win in relief of sophomore starter Jamie Schulle. Riley (9-10) pitched the last 3.2 innings of the game, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits with two strikeouts.

After Morgan State scored a run in the top of the first on a throwing error on the Spartans, NSU came right back and put two runs on the board in the bottom half of the frame. Wright singled through the left side of the infield and eventually came home from third on a pitch in the dirt.

Freshman outfielder Haley Ward lined one right past pitcher Danielle Lugo's glove and into center field and went to third when senior third baseman Whitney Holland followed with a shot past the shortstop. Ward crossed the plate when junior shortstop Gipsy Ramirez waited back on a changeup and lined it into center for a 2-1 lead.

After Boshia Richardson blasted a solo homer over the left field fence in the second, NSU took the lead right back in its half of the inning. Sophomore outfielder Morgan Boyd singled, stole second and came home on Wright's double to the center field wall. Wright then moved to third on a single by sophomore catcher Kathy Cortez and took home on a wild pitch.

Holland gave NSU a 5-2 lead in the third when she took the first pitch she saw and parked it over the center field fence for her fourth homer of the season. The Spartans added another run in the inning when sophomore first baseman Melina Valles walked and then came all the way home from first when Richardson threw Boyd's bunt single into right field.

Morgan State cut the lead to one, 6-5, with three runs in the fourth, highlighted by Amber Bachman's two-run single into left field following an RBI double by Tiffany Rubin. The Bears added another run in the fifth to tie it up at 6-6, but the Spartans came right back once again and answered with four runs in the fifth.

Freshman Whittni Gray beat out an infield single to put runners on first and second with one out. Pinch runner Marjorie Pettitt came home when Richardson once again threw away Boyd's bunt attempt. Wright followed with a two-run double to score Boyd and Gray, and then after another pitching change, Cortez hit an infield single and freshman second baseman Alina Moriarty walked to load the bases.

Ward's RBI groundout scored the fourth run of the inning for a 10-6 lead, and then after Frame's RBI single in the sixth, NSU extended the lead to 13-7 with three more runs in the sixth.

Ramirez reached base on a base hit right in front of the plate, and then two straight errors on the Bears loaded the bases. Wright blooped a single to right to score Ramirez, and then with two outs, pinch hitter Nikki Jones lined one back up the middle to plate both Gray and Valles for the final scoring margin.

Boyd and Gray each scored a pair of runs, while Ramirez ended the day 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Cortez, Ward, Holland and Boyd each added two hits on the afternoon.

Bachman (3-7) took the loss in relief, allowing eight runs, three earned, on eight hits in four innings of work. Lugo got the start and also pitched in relief later in the game. She gave up nine hits and five runs, four earned, in just two innings.

NSU will head out of town next weekend for a three-game conference series at Delaware State, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.