HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University softball team split a doubleheader with Drexel on Monday at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium, taking the first game 5-4 before seeing a comeback attempt fall short in a 5-3 loss in the second game.
 
The Lady Pirates (9-8) have still won eight of their last 11 games.
 
The Lady Pirates first got on the board in the bottom of the third inning of the first game; after sophomore Diamond Ponds (Riverside, Calif.) walked, she stole second and advanced to third on the throw. She then scored on a double to left field from freshman Danielle Budden (Jackson, N.J.) to put Hampton up 1-0.
 
Hampton added four runs in the bottom of the fourth, beginning with a bases-loaded walk to Ponds that scored junior Kerissa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.). Junior Margaret Wilkins (Tustin, Calif.) then reached on a fielder's choice, scoring freshman Heather Baccus (Hertford, N.C.) to give the Lady Pirates a 3-0 lead.
 
Budden singled to left field to score two more, giving Hampton a 5-0 lead.
 
Sophomore Jecholia Pratt (Orlando, Fla.) pitched a strong six innings, giving up just four hits, before finding herself in some trouble in the top of the seventh.
 
Junior Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) came in to relief with the bases loaded, and Drexel managed to push four runs across before Jackson recorded the last of her two strikeouts to preserve the 5-4 win and record her first save of the season.
 
Pratt picked up her third win of 2014.
 
Wilkins, Budden, and Burruel each had two hits in the first game, while Budden drove in a team-high three runs and Ponds scored twice.
 
The Lady Pirates wasted no time in the second game, jumping on the board immediately with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman Taylor Clark (Queen Creek, Ariz.) singled to left field to bring in Budden for the first run, before Baccus added an RBI single of her own.
 
Redshirt-sophomore Raenelle Taylor (Aquasco, Md.) was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to push across another run and give the Lady Pirates a 3-0 lead.
 
That lead held until the top of the third inning, when Drexel pushed across three runs to tie the game at 3-3. A two-run home run from Liana Newton was the big hit of the inning, following an RBI single from Karli Boyer.
 
Drexel added two runs in the fifth on a two-run homer from Shelby Taylor to go up 5-3.
 
The Lady Pirates fought back, loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, before Baccus flied out to end the game.
 
Budden went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Hampton in the second game.
 
The Lady Pirates will be in Catonsville, Md. on Saturday and Sunday to compete in the UMBC Softball Tournament. 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.