Courtesy of Norfolk Athletics
NORFOLK, VA – Howard University took down No. 2 seed Norfolk State 5-1 on Thursday afternoon in the 2023 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Championship at NSU Softball Field.
With the Spartans’ loss, the top two seeds have now been eliminated.
The Bison are the only team in the field who have MEAC championship experience, having won the 2022 title. They advanced to Friday’s 12 p.m. elimination bracket contest, where they will face Maryland Eastern Shore.
The winner will have to win two games in order to advance to Saturday’s championship contest.
Howard took the lead early, when the Bison scored two runs in the top half of the second inning. Alyssa Vasquez scored off an infield single by Sydni Jones, then Sidney Fletcher followed that run with a sacrifice fly RBI that scored Victoria Brown.
The lone run by the Spartans came in the bottom of the second, when Lauren Sheehan scored.
Howard added a run in the third, when Amelia Weber scored on a single to right field from Vasquez. Weber would score again in the fifth and drive in a run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh to secure the win for the Bison.
Vasquez and Kalita Dennis each had two hits for the Bison, and Weber scored twice. Norfolk State’s season comes to a close with a record of 24-23.