NORFOLK, Va. (April 19, 2026)--The Lady Bears softball team traveled to Norfolk State over the weekend and dropped two games to the Spartans in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference series at TowneBank Softball Field. Morgan State lost the opener on Saturday, 6-1, but regrouped to defeat the Spartans 11-2 in five innings to end a seven-game losing skid. Norfolk State would claim the series with a 10-2 victory in five innings on Sunday afternoon on Senior Day.  
 
Norfolk State improved to 20-18 overall, 10-8 in the MEAC and currently sits tied with South Carolina State for third place in league standings. Morgan State is 9-25 on the season, 6-12 in the MEAC and is in sixth place. The Lady Bears hold a one-game lead over a surging Maryland Eastern Shore team and North Carolina Central, who both have 5-13 MEAC records. Morgan State holds the tie-breaker over both Maryland Eastern Shore and North Carolina Central.
 
Game 1
The host Spartans recorded 11 hits and scored six times, while holding Morgan State to a run on three hits to earn the series opening win on Saturday. The win ended a four-game losing streak, as well as extending their winning streak over Morgan State to four in a row.
 
Morgan State dropped its seventh straight game and also suffered its first loss to the Spartans in Norfolk, since March 26, 2022, ending a five-game winning streak over the Spartans on their home field.
 
Norfolk State struck first, scoring a run in the second on a Morgan State throwing error. The Spartans then added two more runs in the third to increase their lead to 3-0.
 
The Lady Bears got a run back in the fourth when Millie Cousins hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Cassie White for Morgan State's lone run of the game.
 
The Spartans closed out the scoring with three more runs in the fifth. Maddy Morris homered to left field to make it a 4-1 game and Amaya McPherson and Julia Kearney recorded back-to-back RBI singles to increase the Norfolk State lead to 6-1.
 
Morris picked up the win in the circle for the Spartans to improve to 9-5. Morris threw a game-high six strikeouts in seven innings.
 
Cousins was charged with the loss and fell to 6-10 on the season. Cousins recorded four strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. Serena Rodriguez came in relief and struck out two batters.
 
Game 2
Morgan State bounced back to earn a doubleheader split, as it defeated the Spartans 11-2 in five innings. The Lady Bears, who scored at least a run in every inning, tallied 11 runs on 11 hits, while holding Norfolk State to two runs on five hits.
 
Nia Lewis led the way recording a game-high three hits on three at bats and scored twice. Denver Obermeyer collected two hits, including a homerun on two at bats, had a game-high 3 RBI and scored a game-high three times. Millie Cousins and Hunter Newman each had 2 RBI.
 
Serena Rodriguez earned the win to secure her third victory of the season. Rodriguez pitched a complete game, surrendering two runs on five hits and tossing a game-high six strikeouts.
 
After each team scored a run in the first inning, the Lady Bears began to open the game up with three runs in the second frame. Olivia Garner drew a bases loaded walk to score Obermeyer for the first run of the inning. Cousins flied out to left field, which scored Dejah Jones and Lewis scored on a fielding error at second base to up Morgan's lead to 4-1.
 
The guests extended their advantage to 6-1 when Alison Keener and Obermeyer both scored on a wild pitch in the third innings.
 
Norfolk State got back on the board in the bottom half of the third when Savannah Stover scored on a passed ball to cut Morgan's lead to 6-2.
 
Morgan State was not done, as Obermeyer hit a three-run homer to left center to extend the lead to 9-2. The Lady Bears would add two more runs in the fifth for the 11-2 victory.
 
Game 3
Norfolk State would win the rubber match, defeating the Lady Bears 10-2 in the season finale. The loss would be the third straight MEAC series loss for Morgan State this season.
 
The Spartans wasted no time, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first on a three-run shot to left center by Aniyah Michalak. Norfolk State added two more runs in the third, highlighted by a double by Amaya McPherson to extend the lead to 5-0.
 
Morgan State got the offense going in the fourth inning, getting two runs back to cut the deficit to 5-2. Millie Cousins homered to center field for the Lady Bears' first run of the game and Alison Keener singled to center field to score Olivia Pagano.
 
The Spartans scored two runs in the bottom fourth on Michalak's two-run single up the middle to increase the lead to 7-2 and added three more in the fifth. Maya Johnson homered to right field and Qween Edmonds doubled to right field to score the final two runs for the 10-2 victory.
 
Michalak finished the game going 2-for-3 with two runs and a game-high 5 RBI.
 
Next Up: Morgan State will head to nearby Towson for a mid-week non-conference contest against the Towson Tigers. First pitch is at 3 p.m. at Tiger Softball Stadium.
 
 
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE 
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bear athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more. 
• Follow us on social media:
 Facebook: /MorganStateBears
 Twitter: @MorganStBears
 Instagram: /MorganStateBears
 
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.