PETERSBURG, VA –The Chowan University softball team picked up two victories in the CIAA Tournament on Thursday, April 21^st to advance to the semifinals.  The Hawks earned a 6-1 victory against Johnson C. Smith University in the opening round game behind a solid offensive performance from Fahren Munro.  Chowan then picked up a thrilling, come from behind 8-7 victory over Bowie State University in the nightcap.

Munro stole three bases and scored three runs in the first round victory over the Lady Golden Bulls, despite not recording a hit.  She reached on an error in the first inning and later scored to give the Hawks an early 2-0 lead.  Tricia Gorman drove in Allie Kolezynski earlier in the inning to open the scoring.

Chowan did not score again until the fourth inning.  In that frame, the Hawks put three unearned runs on the board.  Mindy Byrd, Kolezynski, and Munro each scored for Chowan to open up a 5-0 cushion.

Megan Wade drove in Munro in the sixth inning with a single to give Chowan a 6-0 advantage.  JCSU scored one run in the seventh to close the gap to 6-1, but could not produce any more offense.

Allie Kolezynski went 3-3 in the game and scored two runs.  Christie Wright picked up the win on the mound after striking out 10 batters and allowing 1 run off 7 hits.

Chowan scored one run in the first inning of the nightcap against Bowie State to take an early lead.  The Hawks then scored three runs in the third inning to open up a 4-0 cushion.  Liz Hipple and Li Sill each had doubles in the inning.

Bowie State then stormed back offensively in the top of the fourth with four runs to tie the game at four.  The Lady Bulldogs were not done, however, as they put three more runs on the board in the fifth to take a 7-4 lead.

Chowan kept that deficit until the bottom of the sixth inning when Brenna Thomas, Liz Hipple, and Liz Sill each scored a run.  Chowan benefitted from two BSU errors in the inning.

Tricia Gorman showed why she is the national leader in RBI in the seventh inning.  With Allie Kolezynski on second base, Gorman nailed a single to right field to easily score Kolezynski and cap the comeback. 

Liz Sill finished the game going 2-3 at the plate with three RBI.  Mindy Byrd has two RBI while Alex Allen connected for three hits.

Christie Wright picked up another win on the mound.  She pitched the final 2.0 innings of the game, giving up two hits and no runs.

Chowan will face Winston-Salem State University in the semifinals.  The teams will meet at 12:30pm tomorrow at the Virginia State Sports Complex.