HAMPTON, Va. – The Hampton University softball team beat Maryland Eastern Shore 9-7 at a soggy Lady Pirates Softball Stadium on Saturday afternoon to complete the sweep of the three-game conference series.
 
The Lady Pirates (19-18, 9-3 MEAC) have won four straight games and six of their last eight.
 
UMES jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning, taking advantage of sloppy field conditions – scoring all three runs on plays that were something other than hits (a wild pitch, an RBI groundout, and a sacrifice fly).
 
Hampton answered in the bottom of the frame, when freshman Kayla DeSchepper (Lakewood, Colo.) singled home freshman Danielle Budden (Jackson, N.J.) to cut the lead to 3-1.
 
Freshman Heather Baccus (Hertford, N.C.) tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the second inning, cranking her first home run of the season over the left field fence. The homer brought home Budden, who led off the inning with a single.
 
UMES (7-33, 4-7 MEAC) scored three times in the top of the fourth, taking a 6-3 lead, before the Lady Pirates responded with five runs in the bottom half of the inning. Baccus got the scoring started with a double to left field that brought in sophomore McKalee Rouse (Aledo, Texas) and junior Kerissa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.).
 
Sophomore Diamond Ponds (Riverside, Calif.) followed with a single that brought Baccus home and tied the game at 6-6.
 
Later, with the bases loaded, DeSchepper walked to bring in another run, before freshman Taylor Clark (Queen Creek, Ariz.) reached on a fielder's choice that scored Ponds and gave the Lady Pirates an 8-6 lead.
 
Clark later scored in the bottom of the sixth on a wild pitch, putting Hampton up 9-6.
 
UMES rallied in the top of the seventh inning, picking up a run on an RBI double from Emily Diseroad with nobody out to cut the lead to 9-7, but Diseroad was left stranded at third base as junior Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) pitched her way out of trouble.
 
Baccus, Ponds, Burruel, and DeSchepper each had two hits for the Lady Pirates, while Burruel and Baccus each scored twice. Baccus drove in a team-high four runs.
 
Jackson struck out two in seven innings of work, picking up her 13th win of the season.
 
The Lady Pirates will take on North Carolina A&T on Tuesday at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium in a doubleheader starting 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.