PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – The Hampton University softball team split its doubleheader against Maryland Eastern Shore at Hawk Field on Saturday, winning the first game 6-3 in comeback fashion before falling 5-1 in the second game.
 
The Lady Pirates (15-19, 7-3 MEAC) have won 10 of their last 13 games.
 
UMES jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first game after a two-run second inning, before Hampton answered with a run in the top of the third when junior Taylor McCoy (Riverview, Fla.) got the Lady Pirates on the board with a single that scored Margaret Wilkins (Tustin, Calif.).
 
UMES added a run in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.
 
The Lady Pirates tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth; after McCoy walked, freshman Allyson Babinsack (Hampton, Va.) hit a home run to left center field, her fourth of the season.
 
Hampton completed the comeback in the top of the seventh, starting with a single to center field from freshman Lorena Alvarez (Saddle Brook, N.J.) that brought home junior McKalee Rouse (Aledo, Texas) – before sophomore Danielle Budden (Jackson, N.J.) hit a two-run triple to give Hampton a 6-3 lead.
 
Wilkins and Alvarez scored on that hit.
 
Six different Lady Pirates recorded hits in the first game, and Budden and Babinsack each drove in two runs. Babinsack also had eight strikeouts in the circle to pick up her ninth straight win and 12th on the season.
 
UMES scored all five of its runs in the second game in the bottom of the fifth inning, taking advantage of a Hampton error and hitting two doubles that accounted for three runs.
 
Hampton mounted a comeback attempt in the top of the seventh, when senior Kerissa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.) led off with a single and advanced to second when junior Jessica Reiman (Massillon, Ohio) was hit by a pitch.
 
Sophomore Taylor Clark (Queen Creek, Ariz.) then walked to load the bases, before Alvarez walked to bring in Burruel to cut the lead to 5-1.
 
Wilkins had one of Hampton's three hits in the second game, extending her hitting streak to 13 games. She also tied the program's all-time record for career hits with 231; Maggie Wolfe also had 231 career hits for the Lady Pirates from 2004-07.
 
Senior Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) struck out three in six innings.
 
The Lady Pirates will wrap up their series at UMES on Sunday at 12 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.