Box Score
ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Hampton University took advantage of three errors in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull away to a 4-0 victory over North Carolina Central University in the opening round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Championship on Thursday morning at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
The top-seeded Pirates of the Northern Division scored all four of their runs in the sixth to win their 10th straight game. Hampton (23-20 Overall) will next play the winner of the Bethune-Cookman University versus Morgan State University game on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Lady Eagles, who are making their MEAC tourney debut as the fourth seed from the Southern Division, slipped to 12-29 on the season. NCCU will next play an elimination game against the loser of the Wildcats/Bears tilt on Thursday at 4 p.m.
HU junior Allyson Babinsack and NCCU senior
Dominique Wilson provided a pitcher's duel.
Babinsack took a perfect game into the seventh inning, but the no-hitter was broken up when junior shortstop
Ryann Kostandin looped a clean single to left. Babinsack settled for the one-hit shutout after retiring the first 19 NCCU batters face. Babinsack leveled her record at 13-13 and recorded three strikeouts.
Wilson kept the Pirates scoreless for the first five innings and she recorded four strikeouts. However, the Hampton only needed two hits in the sixth to score its four runs as the Lady Eagles committed a trio of miscues.
Senior outfielder Taylor Warrick led off the decisive frame with a single and she moved to second on a fielding error during a sac bunt attempt by freshman outfielder Brianna Anderson that put the second runner aboard. They both scored on a double into the left field gap off the bat of sophomore Kial Watts. A couple more errors led to the final two runs.
Wilson (8-16) was tagged with the loss despite going the distance and only one of her four runs allowed being earned.
Hampton outhit NCCU, 5-1, with Watts being the only player in the contest with more than one base knock.
