NORFOLK, Va. (May 8, 2025)--Morgan State, the defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) softball champions, saw its quest to repeat and bring home the program's third title, come to an end on Day 2 of the tournament.
 
The fourth-seeded Lady Bears would fall to South Carolina State, the sixth seed, by a score of 4-2 on Thursday evening at the NSU Softball Field on the Norfolk State campus.
 
Morgan State's season came to an end, while South Carolina State moves on to face No. 2 Norfolk State on Friday at 10 a.m.
 
South Carolina State (15-21), which entered the game having dropped eight straight to Morgan State, including this season's three-game series, avenged being eliminated by Morgan State in last season's championship.
 
The Bulldogs did all their scoring in the first two innings, which proved to be enough damage to pull off the upset of Morgan State.
 
The Lady Bears (18-29) struck first in the first inning when Rylee Hyde scored on a wild pitch to give the defending champions an early 1-0 lead.
 
However, Morgan's lead would be short-lived as S.C. State responded with two runs in the bottom half of the first. Kylie Nelson singled to left field to score Madison Boyd, tying the score at 1-1. The Bulldogs would load the bases, and Alyssa Stanford drew a walk, which scored Taylor Ames-Alexander, putting S.C. State ahead 2-1.
 
S.C. State went back to work in the second inning when Jamaria Charley raced around the base and scored on a bunt single to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 advantage. Marley Quamm, who was on base during Charley's at bat, scored the third run of the game on a throwing error on the pitcher.
 
The Lady Bears' final run of the game and the 2025 season came in the top of the third when Victoria Fletcher grounded out to short to score Amber Rivas to cut the deficit to 4-2.
 
Ciara Farrar got the win for the Bulldogs to improve to 6-6, while holding Morgan State to just two hits in the game. Destiny Call earned the save for S.C. State. Charley finished with a game-high three hits and a run.
 
Fans can follow the action and stay updated through the MEAC Softball Championship Central page. 
 
 
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 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.