(Ormond Beach, Fl.) – Slotted as the top out of the north, the Delaware State softball team (33-15) opened the MEAC Tournament with a 7-1 victory over No. 4 North Carolina A&T (16-27) to extend its season-long winning streak to nine games.
To get things started, DSU led off the first with back-to-back singles by sophomores Chloe Oro and Nicole Gazzola, followed by NCAT's Shelby Synder (3-13) drilling Jessica Madrid to load the bases. Next up, catcher Sandy Hawthorne drove in the first run of the game with a sac fly, whereas infielder Jordan Stamps RBI-singled through the left side to bring in Gazzola to put the Hornets up, 2-0.
Two innings later, after Madrid led off the frame with a single up the middle, Hawthorne increased DSU's lead to three with an RBI-double. As the inning progressed, Hawthorne advanced to third on a wild pitch, while freshman Danielle Velez drove her in with a two-out infield single to make it a 4-0 ball game.
In the sixth, the Hornets put the finishing touches on their ninth straight win with a Madrid two-run double, followed by Hawthorne driving in Madrid with her second triple of the year.
To close out the game, starter Vanessa Ciocatto (11-5) completed a stellar outing, which included six hits and one walk allowed, by striking out pinch hitter Syerra Askew for her sixth K of the day. The lone run given up, meanwhile, occurred in the fourth by way of a Charity Douglas RBI-double.
At the plate, the Hornets finished with 12 hits, led by Oro and Hawthorne both going 3-for-3 and scoring twice. In the case of Hawthorne, who was named MEAC Player of the Week on Monday, she came into today's contest batting .630 with 17 hits, 10 RBI, seven doubles, one home run and maintaining a 1.000 slugging percentage in her last eight games.
Gazzola and Madrid, on the other hand, both tallied two hits and scored twice.
Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will play the winner of No. 2 Florida A&M and No. 3 Norfolk State at 7 p.m.
Stingers
Jessica Madrid extended her hitting streak to 11 games, which is the longest of any Hornet this season… Chloe Oro extended her hitting streak to a season-long 10 games… DSU has tallied 10 or more hits in the last eight games… The Hornets are now 10-10 all-time against the Aggies.
