BALTIMORE, Md. (May 5, 2021)-The Morgan State softball team concluded the regular season with a non-conference doubleheader split against visiting George Mason on Wednesday afternoon at Lois T. Murray Field.
 
The Lady Bears (21-15) won the opener 4-3 and dropped the second game to the Patriots (15-17), 3-2 in eight innings.
 
Wednesday marked Senior Day at Morgan State, as the team's six seniors (Meikel Turner, Jalian Young, Maya McIntyre, Damishah Charles, Stephanie Rundlett and Haylee Bobos), who during Game 1 played in their final collegiate contest at home, were sent out with one final victory inside the friendly confines of Lois T. Murray Field.
 
The win ended an eight-game losing slide to George Mason and is the program's lone victory over the Patriots in series' 10 meetings.
 
Game 1
All six seniors started the opener, as they took the field together one last time for a home contest.
 
The Patriots got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first inning, when Maddy Myers singled to left field to drive in Rachel Warrens and EJ Bankson.
 
Morgan State cut the deficit in half with Ellen Ebbers' homerun to right field, making it a 2-1 George Mason advantage.
 
The Lady Bears evened the score at 2-2 in the second inning when Katariina Delph grounded out to score Damishah Charles.
 
Mason reclaimed the lead in the third when Myers again singled to left field, this time scoring Amber Verstynen for the 3-2 lead.
 
Morgan State got the lead back for good in the bottom half of the frame, when Charles singled to center field to bring home Deborah Hamilton and Meikel Turner for the 4-3 lead, which would hold up.
 
Charles finished the game going 3-for-3 at the plate with a run and an RBI to lead the Lady Bears, who finished the game with eight hits.
 
Morgan starting pitcher Stephanie Rundlett earned the win for the Lady Bears to improve to 9-7on the season, while Melissa Paz picked up her second save of the season. Rundlett struck out seven batters in 4.2 innings pitched and Paz held it down in relief, allowing just one walk in two innings of work.


 
Game 2
In the nightcap the Patriots again jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Morgan State. George Mason scored in the second on an RBI single to right center hit by A Villalobos, followed by a double steal in the third inning, resulting in Rachel Warrens stealing home for a 2-0 lead.
 
Morgan State got back in the game with a run in the fourth inning when Cayla Sweazie singled to left center, scoring Ellen Ebbers. The Lady Bears then evened up the score at 2-2 when Ebbers doubled in the sixth inning to score Aliya Ewell.
 
Mason would score the game winning run in the eighth inning when Haellie Gordon doubled to left field to score Sydney Bales for the 3-2 victory.
 
Ewell led the Lady Bears with three hits in four at bats with a run. Ebbers and Sweazie both went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
 
Mikayla Barnard (9-5) went the distance for Morgan State and threw a game-high seven strikeouts in the loss.

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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 126 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.