RALEIGH, NC – Much like the day one, the Trojans completely dominated day two of the CIAA Softball Round-Up. As of right now, VSU is tied for first in the conference at 4-0 beating Livingstone 8-0 in just six innings while pulling away from Winston-Salem State late 11-7.
Game 1
In the bottom of the first inning,
Alani Horton was able to single into center field to score
Hailey Darrington. Later that inning,
Desmyn Owens was able to score Horton on a base hit to make the score 2-0. Alaija Pratt almost put the ball over the fence but ended up hitting a triple into left field, which brought
Samantha Cunningham and
Hailey Darrington. Alaija Pratt was able to make the score 5-0 after
Alani Horton singled into center field for the second time of the game in the bottom of the second inning. The Trojans were held scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning until
Samantha Cunningham doubled into left field which allowed
Macy Beville to come into score to make it 6-0. Virginia State was able to notch another run after
Serenity Barbee hit an inside the park home run after the third base player sailed a throw over the first base player's head. After
Hailey Darrington tripled into right center field, she scored on a passed ball to end the game with an eight-run rule with the finals score at 8-0.
Top Performers
Hailey Darrington: 4-4, 3 Runs, Triple, Stolen Base
Alaijah Pratt: 2-3, Run, 2 RBI, Triple
Alani Horton: 2-3, Run, 2 RBI
Samantha Cunningham: 2-2, Run, RBI, Walk
Desmyn Owens: 6 Innings pitched, 0 Earned runs, 3 Hits, 0 Strikeouts, 0 Walks
Game 2
The Rams got started with a run coming home to score on a single to make it 1-0 in the top the first inning. In the bottom of the first inning, the Trojans were able to tie the game thanks to a single to the shortstop to score Hailey Darriington to make it one all. WSSU was able go up by two runs on a homerun to deep left center field which made the score. After a scoreless inning for the Trojans, the Rams added to their lead with a solo homerun to make the score 4-1. With this one seemingly starting to get out of hand, The Trojans were able to cut into the lead as
Macy Beville scored on a passed ball to make the score 4-2 in the bottom of the third inning. After holding WSSU scoreless, the Trojans would proceed to bring home a run on a hard hit ball to the short stop to score
Machenze Flood.
Desmyn Owens would go on to score
Alaijah Pratt on a single into center field to knot the contest at 4 in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Trojans were able to break the tie as
Alaijah Pratt scored
Machenze Flood and
Julia Jones on a base hit to second base. Later that inning, Pratt came around to score after
Macy Beville hit a double into left field to make the score 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Rams would combat the Trojans with three runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at seven. The Trojans wasted no time in the bottom of the sixth inning, as
Nia Hall scored on a single into right field off the bat of
Samantha Cunningham. After Flood scored Cunningham on a single to third base,
Hailey Darrington slapped a home run to add two insurance runs to make the score 11-7 heading into the top of the seventh inning. The Trojans were able to hold off the Rams to take the victory 11-7.
Top Performers
Hailey Darrington: 2-4, 2 Runs, 2 RBI, Walk, Homerun, Double
Alaijah Pratt: 3-5, 2 Runs, 2 RBI, Stolen Base
Macy Beville: 3-5, 1 Run, 2 RBI, Double, Stolen Base
Samantha Cunningham: 3-3, Run, RBI, Walk
Julia Jones: 2-4, Run
Machenze Flood: 2-3, 3 Runs, RBI, Walk
Alaijah Pratt: 7 Innings pitched, 4 Earned runs, 8 Strikeouts, 1 Walk
Up Next
Virginia State will have a date with Claflin (4-0 CIAA) as the two are currently tied for first in the conference. In the second game, the Trojans will face Johnson C. Smith as they ended their first day of the Round-Up undefeated as well. The Claflin matchup is set for Sunday, March 27 at 9:00 a.m. while the second against JCSU is set for 2:00 p.m.
