Results
ORMOND BEACH, Fla. (May 12, 2016)-Senior Megan Dunning hit a grand slam to highlight a seven-run sixth inning, and the Norfolk State softball team survived to play another day after a 12-8 win over Morgan State on Thursday afternoon in the MEAC tournament at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
The Spartans rallied from a three-run deficit against the Bears in an elimination game in the loser's bracket of the tournament. The win kept NSU alive and advanced the Spartans to the next round on Friday morning at 10 a.m. against the loser of the Delaware State-Bethune-Cookman game set for later Thursday evening.
Morgan State saw its season come to a close with a 13-28 record after a game that took more than three hours to play.
Freshman Kyle Lopez drove in three runs for NSU (18-24), while junior Devon Bitler batted 3-for-4 with two RBI. NSU finished with 12 hits on the day.
Morgan State's wildness – they issued 10 free passes for the game – finally caught up to the Bears in the sixth as NSU took the lead for good. With the Spartans down 7-5, junior Kayla McNair opened the inning with a double down the left field line, and four straight walks plated two runs to tie the score at 7-all. After the Bears got the first two outs of the inning on force plays at home, a wild pitch put the Spartans in the lead.
The fifth of six walks in the inning again loaded the bases, and Dunning followed with a grand slam to left, her fourth homer of the year, for a 12-7 Spartan advantage.
Sophomore Megan Przeslawski (6-4) earned the win after pitching all seven innings.
The Bears manufactured a run in the first, loading the bases on a hit, walk and hit-by-pitch with one out. Kimber Salvas hit a pop up behind first base, and sophomore Seana Moriarty made the catch just on the grass. Damali Young took off for home and was dead-to-right, but a great slide around the tag of Lopez gave the Bears the early lead.
But NSU came back in the top of the second. Freshman Stephanie Davenport hit a chopper over the third baseman's head and later went to second on walk issued to Lopez. After MSU got the second out of the inning, Bitler hit one through the 3-4 hole, and a bad hop on the lip of the grass allowed Davenport to come home from second. Lopez then scored when senior Heather Dunning lined one through the hole between first and second.
Bear starter Allison Hartman, though, induced a groundout with the bases loaded to end the threat. MSU then took the lead right back with four runs in the bottom of the second. Young hit an RBI single, and a second run came home on a Spartan error. Audrianna Alvarez then lined a sac fly to center, and Korynna Lara singled between third and short for a 5-2 Bear lead.
The Spartans got two runs back in the top of the third, as Przeslawski got things started with a one-out double over the right fielder. Davenport reached on an error, and Przeslawski came home on a sac fly by Lopez. Davenport crossed the plate when Bitler dropped a single into center. But again the Bears got out of a jam, as relief pitcher Amy Begg struck out the last batter of the inning with the bases loaded.
NSU left 11 runners on base for the game.
MSU made it 7-4 with two runs in the bottom of the third. Danielle Pitpit hit an RBI single through the 5-6 hole for the first run. Then with one out and the bases loaded, Young lined a shot to center field that Heather Dunning made a nice diving catch. She threw from her knees to get the third out of the inning at third, but Pitpit crossed the plate just before the tag to score the second run of the inning.
McNair hit a chopper over the third baseman in the top of the fourth and later scored on Lopez line drive single past shortstop to cut the MSU lead to 7-5.
Lara capped the scoring with an RBI single in the sixth for MSU.
McNair and Przeslawski each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Heather Dunning also had a pair of hits.
Young led MSU after going 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Young, who set the school's single-season steals record this season, added a stolen base to give her 30 for the season. In her first season as a Lady Bear, Young is already 37 steals away from tying the school's all-time steals mark.
