HAMPTON, Va. – With wins of 1-0 and 3-2 over North Carolina A&T on Tuesday at the Lady Pirates Softball Stadium, the Hampton University softball team continued its hot streak, building momentum into the home stretch of the regular season.
 
The Lady Pirates (21-18) have won six straight games and eight of their last 10.
 
The first game was a pitchers' duel between Jaimie Jordon and junior Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.), as the two teams combined for just nine hits. North Carolina A&T (14-23) threatened in the top of the fifth, putting runners on the corners before Charity Douglas was caught trying to steal second to end the inning.
 
The Lady Aggies also had a runner in scoring position in the sixth, but again Hampton emerged from the frame without giving up a run.
 
Junior Margaret Wilkins (Tustin, Calif.), the reigning MEAC Player of the Week, got on base in the bottom of the sixth inning with a double down the left field line, before stealing third base. Freshman Danielle Budden (Jackson, N.J.) brought Wilkins in with a squeeze bunt for the game's only run.
 
Dasia Moore doubled with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, but a strong throw from sophomore Diamond Ponds (Riverside, Calif.) and a relay from Budden threw Moore out at third to end the game.
 
Wilkins, Budden, and freshman Taylor Clark (Queen Creek, Ariz.) each had a hit in the first game.
 
Jackson, the reigning MEAC Pitcher of the Week, scattered six hits in seven innings of work, striking out seven in picking up her 14th win of the season.
 
The Lady Pirates wasted no time getting on the board in the second game, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead after freshman Kayla DeSchepper (Lakewood, Colo.), the reigning MEAC Rookie of the Week, singled to right field to bring in Wilkins.
 
North Carolina A&T tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth after Shelby Snyder scored on a passed ball. Hampton responded immediately, taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth when Ponds singled up the middle to score junior Kerissa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.).
 
Tiffany Macklin hit a solo home run to left field in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 2-2, before Budden responded in the bottom of the frame with the game-winning run, cranking her fifth home run of the season over the left-field wall to put the Lady Pirates up 3-2.
 
Budden is on a five-game hitting streak.
 
Budden, DeSchepper, and Ponds each had two hits in the second game.
 
Sophomore Jecholia Pratt (Orlando, Fla.) went 6.1 innings to pick up her seventh win of the season, striking out three and scattering nine hits. Jackson came on in the seventh inning, getting the final two outs for her second save of the season.
 
The Lady Pirates will head to Baltimore, Md. this Saturday and Sunday for a three-game conference series at Coppin State. 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.