By: Rick K. Jackson
The DSU softball team continued to dominate the MEAC conference winning both games during this weekend’s double header against the University of Hampton.
Nicole Brock of DSU, gave up a crucial home run in the 5th inning. By the seventh inning the Hornets were still trailing 4-2 until Sandy Hawthorne belted the ball deep to right center field. Hawthorne sent two runners home increasing their score and winning the game 6-4.
The lady Hornets didn’t stop there; after a brief intermission the team came back to the field to compete in the second and final game of the double header.
The Hornets jumped out to an early lead thanks to Nicole Gazzola who has been impressive all year long.
“I’ve been trying to focus on placing the ball in the right spot, reading the defense, and having a plan before I step in the box.”
Gazzola is batting nearly .500 on the season and started the game off with a single hit that allowed the lady Hornets to obtain a 2-0 lead. But the Hampton pirates were not going down without a fight. Kayla Deschepper of Hampton hit a home run in the second inning. Two frames later, Deschepper scored from third with outfielder Diamond Ponds recording a fielder’s choice RBI.
In the end, the Hornets proved to be too much to handle for the Pirates. Haley Jones of DSU (4) recorded a home run over the right field wall, whereas Sablay drove in outfielder Mika Lumsden (walk) and Gazzola (error) to make it a 5-2 ball game during the frame. Gazzola reached another milestone in this weekend’s game as she tallied her 40th run scored during the season, this mark leads all MEAC players.
Wins inside the MEAC will greatly help the lady Hornets down the home stretch of the season.
“..the more conference wins we get the better seed we’ll get going into the conference tournament,” stated Gazzola.
The team will finish up the series on Monday, April 11, 2016. Next weekend, the lady Hornets will travel to Baltimore to play in conference rival Morgan State.
Categories: Sports