Dover (May 10, 2008) --- Dover (May 10, 2008) ---- Brittney Ruark tossed a two-hit shutout and Aisha Holloman smacked a three-run homer in the fourth inning to lift Delaware State to a 3-0 win over Norfolk State, and give the Hornets their first MEAC Softball Championship this afternoon in Ormond Beach, Fla. Delaware State completed a four-game tournament sweep to capture the 2008 MEAC title and the league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
“This is such a thrill for the team and the university,” said Delaware State's Jeff Savage, who was named Most Outstanding Tournament Coach. “We had an up-and-down regular season, but things really came together during the tournament. Our pitching was great and we got timely hits all weekend. These girls worked so hard to reach this point, and I am so proud of them.”
In the title clinching contest, Ruark allowed just two sixth inning singles. She struck out eight and walked three. Ruark was the winning pitcher in all four tournament wins to improve to 15-10 on the season.
The contest was scoreless until the fourth inning when Holloman delivered her big blow. Andrea Waters singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a one-out single by Sha Tabor. Two batters later, Holloman blasted a shot over the fence in right center to give the Hornets a 3-0 lead.
Holloman was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. She was 4-for-12 with six RBI in four games.
Delaware State ran into trouble in the top of the sixth when Norfolk State put its first three batters on base. Ruark struck out the next three batters, Jeanette Sauceda Rebecca Barnes and Micki Rodriguez, to end the threat.
In the seventh, Ruark retired the first two batters before getting Meghan Ramsey to ground out to shortstop to touch off the championship celebration.
Ruark joined Holloman on the All-Tournament Team. She struck out 19 batters, while allowing just six runs and 16 hits in 26 tournament innings (2.07 ERA).
The championship victory was DSU's second over Norfolk State in the tournament. The Hornets upended the Spartans 7-6 in a second round game on Thursday. Delaware State defeated North Carolina A&T 5-1 in its tournament opener and edged 2007 champ Howard 2-1 to advance to the championship round.
Delaware State will learn its NCAA Tournament opponent and destination on Sunday. The NCAA Tournament first round games are set for May 16-18 at campus sites. The pairings will be announced on Sunday evening.
The Hornets will be the second Delaware State women's program to compete in a NCAA Tournament. DSU's women's basketball team earned a NCAA bid after winning the MEAC title in 2007.
Photo credits: Sideline Sports
