(Ormond Beach, Fla.) – The No. 1 overall seeded Delaware State softball team (28-17) saw its season-long 14-game winning streak come to a sudden halt with the No. 2 seeded Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (18-31) pulling off a 4-3 comeback victory Thursday evening in the second round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament.
After three innings of play, the Hornets led 3-0, beginning with outfielder Mika Lumsden connecting for a double in the second to bring in infielder Jordan Stamps (single) all the way from first. The following frame featured Third Team All-MEAC selection Rochelle Sablay driving in outfielder Nicole Gazzola, who tripled to lead off the inning, along with infielder Chloe Oro (error).
Pitching wise, junior Nicole Brock (12-6) was stellar through three, allowing no hits, in addition to tallying all four of her evening's strikeouts.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, began to crawl back in the fourth, sparked by a leadoff single by outfielder Annie Bakenhus, who was later driven by catcher Melissa Berouty with a single to right field. In the fifth, Bethune-Cookman knotted the game at three, capped off by Bakenhus driving in designated player Kalley Richard (fielder's choice) from third.
After a scoreless sixth frame, Bethune-Cookman's Brianna Sanders led off the inning with a single, followed by infielder Sophia Ortega reaching on a costly throwing error by Brock. As a result, Sanders moved over to third, whereas ensuing batter Richard connected for the game-winning RBI with an infield single to shortstop Khaliyah Flournory.
DSU, on the other hand, managed to put the game-tying on, thanks to First Team All-MEAC selection Sandy Hawthorne churning out a one-out double to right center. The next two batters, unfortunately, featured Sablay flying out to left field, followed by infielder Vanessa Washington chasing a high fastball thrown by Sabrina Aguiano (11-14) to end it.
At game's end, Delaware State finished with 11 hits, compared to five for the Wildcats. Leading the way was the MEAC's leader in that department, Gazzola (84), going 3-for-4. She also pushed her season batting average to a staggering .503, along with recording her 37th stolen base of 2016.
Hawthorne and Sablay registered a pair of hits, while four other Hornets tallied one. The difference, however, was DSU stranding a total of eight runners on the bag, including the game-tying run in the final frame.
Brock completed her 11th game of the season, allowing three earned runs and a walk.
Coming up, the Columbia Blue & Red will look to keep their season alive bright and early Friday morning at 10 a.m. against familiar foe No. 2 seeded Norfolk State. In the regular season, DSU took two out of three from the Spartans at home. The Hornets have also won five out of the last six meetings against NSU.
