Lady Eagles Beat Virginia 5-4
APEX, N.C. – Emerie Germ belted a three-run home run and Dominique Wilson struck out eight batters to spark North Carolina Central University to a 5-4 victory over the University of Virginia on Saturday at Middle Creek Park, representing NCCU’s first win over an ACC opponent on the Division I level.
After Brianna Hampton doubled home Wilson in the bottom of the second inning to give NCCU a lead, the Lady Eagles posted four runs in the third courtesy of Germ’s three-run blast and an RBI single by Hampton to increase the cushion to 5-0.
Virginia responded with two runs in the fourth frame and two more in the sixth to pull to within one run of the Lady Eagles, but the Cavaliers left the bases loaded in the sixth and again in the seventh with Wilson striking out the final batter of the contest.
Hampton and Casey Hargett had three hits apiece for NCCU (1-2), while Wilson tallied two hits at the plate and earned the complete game victory by scattering seven hits and allowing three earned runs.
Unusual Mishap Ends Game Amidst Controversy
Emerie Germ (photo by Dyann Busse)
APEX, N.C. – With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and North Carolina Central University trailing by two runs, senior Emerie Germ stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and bombed a three-run, game-winning home run, as the Lady Eagles rallied from a five-run deficit to defeat Delaware State 12-11 on Saturday evening at Middle Creek Park.
Delaware State posted three runs in the top of the sixth for a commanding 11-6 advantage.
However, the determined Lady Eagles, riding the momentum from NCCU’s first win over an ACC opponent just a few hours earlier (5-4 over Virginia), refused to lose. With two outs, Kayleigh Brueck doubled home Jenny Tracy and Casey Hargett, then pinch hitter Dominique Wilson drove in Brianna Hampton to set up Germ’s heroic blast.
In the top of the seventh and final inning, Delaware State sophomore Danielle Velez crushed an apparent game-tying home run over the centerfield fence. But following the Lady Hornets’ celebration, NCCU head coach Theresa Stephens strolled to the home plate for a chat with the umpire, who then called together the rest of his crew. After more than five minutes of deliberation and flipping through the pages of the rule book, in a scene reminiscent of George Brett’s pine tar incident, Velez was called out and the game-tying run was removed from the scoreboard. Why? Stephens pointed out that on the line-up card submitted by Delaware State prior to the game, Velez was listed as wearing jersey number 23. However, she was actually wearing jersey number 12.
Devastated by the gaffe, the next two batters for Delaware State grounded out to third base to end the game.
Brueck finished the game with five RBI on a double and a three-run home run in the first inning, while scoring three times for NCCU (2-2). Tracy posted three hits and scored twice for the Lady Eagles.
London Booker earned the win in relief, allowing just three hits with three strikeouts in 4.2 innings in the circle.
Allie Kolezynski
2/14/2015 7:01:00 PM
Jordan Burland-Card hit a walk-off double in game one.Box Score MURFREESBORO- The Chowan University softball team swept the visiting St. Andrews University Knights on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks edged the Knights 4-3 in game one and defeated St. Andrews 7-3 in the nightcap. Chowan improves to 4-4 on the season with the victories while the Knights slide to 1-8 on the season.
In the first game, Danielle Baccus scored on a passed ball to put the Hawks on the board in the bottom of the second. A Chowan error in the top of the fourth allowed Kori Ballard to score for the Knights and knotted the score 1-1. The Hawks used an error by the Knights to score two runs in the sixth resulting in a 3-1 lead for Chowan.
St. Andrews knotted the score in the top of the seventh using Jennifer Castonon's two-run double. In the home half of the frame with one out, Baccus' double set the stage for Jordan Burland-Card's walk-off double to centerfield, clinching the 4-3 victory for the Hawks in the opening game.
Baccus had two of the Hawks' five hits in game one while Burland-Card, Courtney Diamond and Kris Neal each tallied hits in the win. Kayla Robins earned the win on the mound for the Blue and White. She held the Knights to five hits while striking out nine batters.
Summer Jacobs took the loss for St. Andrews in the opening contest.
After two scoreless innings, the Hawks came alive offensively in the bottom of the third inning of the nightcap. Chowan used three hits and two errors by the Knights to pull away 5-0, highlighted by Brook Bowen's RBI single to left center. The Hawks tacked on two additional runs in the home half of the fourth when Tori Cragan's single allowed Chandler Bridges to score and Baccus' triple down the right field line sent Diamond home.
Down but not out the Knights scored three runs in the top of the sixth using a fielding error by Chowan and two-run single by Sam Lowder. The contest was called in the sixth inning due to darkness but the Hawks earned the 7-3 victory.
Alora Lincoln picked up the win on the mound in the second game. She threw six innings and scattered five hits while striking out seven batters over the course of the game. Kimberly Cook took the loss for the Knights. She surrendered five runs off three hits in 2.2 innings of work. Ballard entered the contest in relief and threw 2.3 innings in the loss.
Bridges led the effort at the plate for the Hawks with two hits. Baccus, Bowen, Cragan, Diamond and White each tallied hits in the win.
The Hawks return to action next weekend as they compete in the Shaw Tournament in Cary, NC, February 20th-22nd.