ORMOND BEACH, Fla. (May 10, 2018)-The Morgan State softball team broke a nine-year winless drought on Wednesday in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Championships on Wednesday afternoon, following a 2-0 victory over the fourth-seeded North Carolina Central (NCCU) Eagles in the opening round of the tournament.
 
The Lady Bears' reward is a winner's bracket second round date with defending champion Florida A&M (FAMU), winners of the last four tournament titles. The Rattlers, the No. 2 seed out of the MEAC Southern Division, defeated Delaware State, 8-4 in their opening game. First pitch will be at 3 p.m. on Thursday at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
 
Prior to Wednesday, Morgan State (28-15) had not won a MEAC championship game since 2008, when it defeated Hampton in an elimination contest. The win over NCCU also marked the first time the Lady Bears won an opening round game in the tournament since 2007, also against Hampton. Morgan State also recorded the program's first-ever win over a southern division opponent in the championships, since the league switched to divisional play in 2009.
 
Behind the pitching of back-to-back MEAC Pitcher of the Year Amy Begg, who threw a game-high six strikeouts and some solid defense, Morgan State needed just two hits to produce enough offense for the win. Those hits would come from sisters Damali and Jalian Young, which allowed Morgan State to score a run each in the second and third innings for the win.
 
Damali Young leads the Lady Bears with 62 hits, including 16 doubles, 45 runs scored a batting average of .419 and 27 stolen bases, all team bests. Young would record a stolen base on Wednesday to up her career steals mark to 97. Begg improved to 16-6 on the season and has 117 strikeouts in 155.1 innings of work.  
 
FAMU (21-27) ended a three-game losing skid with the win over Delaware State. The Rattlers, who have held on to the tournament crown since 2014, belted out 14 hits and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Hornets would battle back, scoring two runs in the second before tying the game at three all with a run in the third. FAMU would break the tie with two runs in the bottom half of the third and two more in the fourth to extend its lead to 7-3. The two teams would trade runs in the sixth inning for the game's final score.
 
The Rattlers are paced by Tyra Bowers, who is averaging .372 with 51 hits, 26 runs, 12 RBI and a team-best 16 stolen bases. Taylor Rosier has 40 hits and has driving in 24, while Toni Anderson has 23 RBI. Kyaira Brown is FAMU's top pitcher, recording a team-best 3.08 ERA. Brown is 14-11 on the season and has collected 121 strikeouts in 173 innings pitched.