Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Hampton University softball team swept a doubleheader from Winston-Salem State on Thursday, winning the first game 7-1 before taking the second game 12-3 at South Park Field.
The Rams took a 1-0 lead in the second inning of the first game when Britney Cato scored on a wild pitch, but the Lady Pirates (2-4) erupted with six runs in the top of the third inning. Jada Jeffries (Lithonia, Ga.) singled down the left field line to bring home a pair of runs, before Brooke Boykin (Riverside, Calif.) added an RBI single of her own. Travonna Byrd (Newport News, Va.) drove in another run with a single, as did Bre'Anna Brown (Los Angeles, Calif.), before Rebecca Magett (Grand Rapids, Mich.) drove in two more runs with a single to right field.
Nina Ferguson (Plymouth, Minn.) added an RBI single of her own in the top of the seventh inning to push the first game to its final margin.
Byrd went 2-for-3 at the plate in the first game, driving in a run and scoring another. Kelsei Saunders (Suffolk, Va.) also went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Tamara Vickers (Lawndale, Calif.) went 2-for-4, scoring a run. Byrd went the distance on the mound, giving up one hit and striking out six for her first win of the season.
Malia Craft had the Rams' only hit in the first game.
The Rams (2-4) opened the second game with a 3-1 lead; Winston-Salem State scored two in the first inning after Whitney Hall hit an RBI single and Latoya Lynch brought in another run on a fielder's choice. Candace Spinks drove in another run in the third inning with an RBI single.
The Lady Pirates, who first got on the board in the second inning on a Boykin RBI double, answered with six runs in the top of the fifth inning. Saunders drove in the first run with a triple to left-center field, before Jasmine Ables (Baltimore, Md.) hit an RBI single to left field. Boykin then doubled in a pair of runs and Sydni Benton (Chicago, Ill.) drove in another run with a single to left field.
Hampton scored twice more in the sixth inning, with Ables hitting an RBI single and Estep scored on a wild pitch. Three more runs came in the top of the seventh inning, when Estep drove in two runs with a triple to right field and Saunders drove home another run with a single.
The Lady Pirates had 16 hits in the second game.
Estep went 3-for-3 from the plate in the second game, scoring three runs. Boykin drove in three runs on two hits, while Ables, Estep and Saunders each drove in two runs. Jeffries went seven innings, striking out three and giving up three runs.
The Lady Pirates will return to action Friday through Sunday, when they head to Greensboro, N.C. to compete in the 2010 Aggie Tournament hosted by North Carolina A&T. Hampton will open play on Friday at 9 a.m. against Appalachian State, before taking on Maryland-Eastern Shore at 3 p.m.
For more information on Hampton University softball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.
