NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State softball team did not show any nerves when it played live on national television as the Spartans picked up a pair of wins in a MEAC doubleheader against North Carolina Central on Friday at the NSU Softball Field. The first game aired live on ESPNU with NSU getting a 5-2 win over the Eagles before the Spartans closed out the day with a 3-1 win over NCCU.
Alison Guckin made a mark in the NSU record book on the day collecting four stolen bases in the two games to end the day with a MEAC-leading 32 on the season. With her second steal of game two, she set the Spartan Division I era single-season stolen base record. She entered the weekend ranked sixth in Division I in stolen bases and ninth in stolen bases per game.
But one of the key players in game one was Joana Vallejo, who from the circle recorded nine strikeouts in a win, improving her record to 6-3 on the season. She now has a total of 19 strikeouts in the past two games she has pitched.
Neither team got a base runner until Kenna Higa opened the bottom of the second with a hard hit ball to the shortstop and beat the throw to first. But it wasn't until the bottom of the third before the Spartans put the first run on the scoreboard.
Guckin started off with a single up the middle before stealing both second and third. Lily Potter followed up with a five-pitch walk and on the next pitch to Imani Moore, stole second. Moore would then hit a single back to Eagles pitcher Jaden Davis and scoring Guckin to put NSU up 1-0. After Iosefa drew a walk to load the bases, Higa's bases-loaded walk forced in a run to extend the lead to two.
The fifth inning saw NSU add three more runs. Moore led off with a double and scored when Higa hit a single up the middle two batter later. Vaughan hit behind Higa and smacked the ball with enough spin at the right field fence that it caused the ball to move away from the right fielder and Vaughan safely made it to third, scoring Higa and putting the Spartans up 4-0. Vaughan would score on a wild pitch that the catcher could not block, extending the NSU lead to five.
The Eagles would not go away quietly in the sixth when Jaden Davis reached on a bunt single back to Vallejo in the circle. On a 1-1 pitch, Hailey Batista took a pitch over the center field fence to score two runs and cut the Spartan lead to three. After Madison Mifsud reached on a fielding error and with two outs, Maegan Garrison hit a single up the middle to put runners on the corners. However Alexis Robinson, who came in to pitch for Vallejo, induced a ground out to end the inning. With NCCU going three up, three down in the top of the seventh, the Spartans earned the 5-2 win.
The game marked the second win in the past two years on ESPNU, with a walk-off grand slam by Vaughan last season over Howard.
In almost a polar opposite from the first game, the Spartans got things started quickly in game two when Lily Potter walked to open the bottom of the frame and would come around and score from second when Tuli Iosefa hit a hard line ball to the shortstop, who misplayed the ball, and gave NSU the 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, Higa took a 1-1 pitch and crushed the ball over the left center field fence to double the lead over NCCU. The Spartans kept the 2-0 lead until the top of fifth when an error at first by Vaughan allowed Diamond Porter to reach first. After Porter stole second and advanced to third on a single by Jaidyn Hamby, she would come around and score in another Eagles hit.
The sixth inning saw the last run of the game scored when Higa walked and advanced to second on a single through the right side by Vaughan. Rylie Gilbreath loaded the bases with a single to left field. Lauren Sheehan grounded out to third, but Higa came home from third to put the NSU lead back at two. The Eagles went three up, three down in the seventh to give the Spartans the win.
Robinson picked up the complete game win in game two with eight strikeouts, a new career-high, and allowing only one unearned run.
The two teams will conclude their series on Sunday with a single game at noon from the NSU Softball Field.
