April 5, 2010

Final Stats - Game 1

Final Stats - Game 2

HAMPTON, Va. - The North Carolina Central University softball team (6-26) surpassed its winning record from last season, improving to 6-26 on the season, splitting doubleheader action Monday afternoon at Lady Pirates Field, where they defeated the Hampton University Lady Pirates (15-22), 5-1, before falling, 4-2.

NCCU took control of the first game in the third inning when it plated its first run of the ballgame. Sophomore Jessica Refojo went 2-for-3 on the game including a triple down the left field line in the third. She crossed the plate following a Nadia Jefferies single to right field, giving the Lady Eagles a 1-0 advantage.

The Lady Eagles capitalized once again in the fourth when Desanbra Franklin singled to left field and advanced to second on the throw. On the next at-bat, Franklin was brought home by an Ashanti Stroud RBI, earning a spot on first following a throwing error by the Hampton catcher. NCCU held a 2-0 lead going into the fifth.

Franklin, the Lady Eagles' senior power hitter, notched her fifth home run of the season in the fifth when she hit a long shot to centerfield for a two-RBI homer, sending freshman Shakemia Edwards home. The Piqua, Ohio, native went a perfect 3-for-3 on the game with a home run, three RBIs and two runs.

Hampton scored its first and only run in the fifth when Travonna Byrd hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Brooke Boykin. Boykin went 2-for-3 with one run. Sharde' Estep also went 2-for-3 to combine with Boykin for four of the Lady Pirates' seven hits. Hampton earned the only double of the game from Nina Ferguson.

NCCU scored one more run in the seventh. Michelle Ishida led-off with a single to left field and stole second. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Edwards and landed home when Franklin hit a RBI sacrifice fly to clinch a 5-1 win over the host. The Lady Eagles improved to 6-25 as Hampton dropped to 14-22.

Stroud rounded out the Lady Eagle offense, going 2-for-3 with one RBI. NCCU finished the game with five runs on seven hits and were flawless in the field. They notched two walks and struck out just three times. Hampton totaled one run on seven hits with two errors and just one walk.

Earning the win in the circle was NCCU senior Kristen Schooler (2-8). The Mitchellville, Md., native earned her second win of the season after giving up just one run on seven hits with one walk in seven innings of action. Her counterpart was Sydni Benton (2-7), who dropped to 2-7 in the circle. She suffered the loss after allowing five runs and nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts in seven innings of play.

NCCU started out just as strong in the second game, jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead in the second inning. Back-to-back singles to right field put Stroud and Andrea Searls onboard. Trishann Hayes followed with a single of her own to third base, loading the bases for Refojo. The sophomore from Miami, Fla., reached first off an error by the third base man, earning her two RBIs as Stroud and Searls crossed the plate.

Unfortunately, that was the only action the Lady Eagle offense would see at the plate, unable to get any more runs on the scoreboard. Hampton held NCCU scoreless for the remainder of the game as the Lady Pirates rallied from two runs down to tie the game in the fourth as Jada Jefferies singled up the middle to send Estep and Rebecca Magett across the plate for the Lady Pirates' first two runs of the game.

Hampton took the lead in the sixth when its bats got busy in the box. Estep was hit by the pitch to take first base. Jefferies got onboard off a fielder's choice. With one out, Kelsei Saunders hammered a shot to center field, racking in a two-RBI home run to give the Lady Pirates a 4-2 advantage.

Saunders went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run, while Jefferies and Magett also went 2-for-3 on the game. Both Jefferies and Magett were plated, while Jefferies notched two RBIs. Saunders and Jefferies combined for all four of the Lady Pirates' RBIs as all three combined for six of Hampton's seven hits.

Taking the loss in the circle was NCCU sophomore Aurora Baker (1-5). She gave up four runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched. Of those four runs, three were earned. She dropped to 1-5 on the season. Freshman Kayla McPeek made an appearance in the seventh for NCCU as she allowed zero runs and zero hits in 0.1 innings of work.

Earning the win was Jefferies (8-6), who earned her eighth win of the season. She allowed just two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in seven innings of work. She gave up zero earned runs in her complete game.

The Lady Pirates finished with four runs on seven hits and four RBIs, while NCCU totaled two runs on six hits with two RBIs. Both teams recorded an error in the game.

Ishida anchored the Lady Eagle offense in the second game of the day as she went a perfect 3-for-3 to earn half of the Lady Eagles' hits. The other three hits came from Stroud, Searls and Hayes. Ishida notched the only double of the game when she doubled to center field in the first inning.

NCCU dropped to 6-26 on the season as Hampton improved to 15-22 overall.

The Lady Eagle softball team will return to the diamond on Thursday, April 8 when they travel to Norfolk, Va., to face the Spartans of Norfolk State University (6-16). It will be a rematch from earlier in the season when the Lady Eagles split the doubleheader with the Spartans. Game times are set for 1p.m. and 3 p.m.

For more information on Lady Eagle softball, visit the official website of NCCU Athletics at www.NCCUEaglePride.com.