RICHMOND, VA- The Chowan University softball team clinched their fourth straight CIAA Northern Division title with 27-11 and 15-8 wins over Virginia Union on Sunday afternoon.  The Hawks improve to 22-21 overall and 15-1 in the CIAA after the sweep against the Lady Panthers. 
 
Chowan came out on top of slugfest in the first contest.  The Hawks narrowly out-hit the Lady Panthers 16-15 but used timely hitting while taking advantage of seven Virginia Union errors to earn the 27-11 victory. 
 
The Hawks jumped to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the third, scoring two runs off three errors and a third run off an RBI single from Courtney Baker.  With the score 3-1 in the top of the third, Amber Matthews belted a homerun to left field to extend the Hawks' lead to 4-1. 
 
Virginia Union answered back in their next at-bat to know the game 4-4 with an RBI double and a two run single.  Chowan took the lead in the next frame thanks to Lacey Wildeboer's three run double to center field. The Lady Panthers used a three run double to center and an RBI double to tie the game 7-7 in the home half of the fourth.  The see-saw game continued as the teams headed into the seventh inning with Chowan maintaining a narrow 12-11 advantage. 
 
The Hawks took control of the contest for good in the top of the seventh.  Baker set the tone with a lead-off homerun to right field and the Hawks never looked back from there, scoring 13 runs off five hits and two Lady Panther errors to close out the 27-11 victory. 
 
Alora Lincoln earned the win after throwing five innings.  Courtney Groce came into the game in-relief of Lincoln to earn the save.  Baker paced the Hawks offensively with a 3-5 performance in the first game.  Two of her three hits were homeruns, and she knocked in five RBI in the victory.  Tori Cragan had four hits in the contest for Chowan, and Leigh Ward drove in four RBI. 
 
The night cap featured another strong offensive showing from the Hawks with all nine batters tallying multiple hits in the 15-8 decision.  Ward had four hits in the victory while Sarah Wiggins and Hannah Joyce tallied three hits apiece. 
 
Chowan quickly went to work in the top of the first using Baker's RBI single to take an early 1-0 lead.  Matthew's RBI single up the middle gave the Hawks their second run in the top of the third.  Liz Hipple gave the Hawks some cushion in the top of the fourth when her two-run double allowed Ward and Joyce to score.  Hipple later scored on a fielding error to extend the Hawks' lead to 5-0.
 
Virginia Union refused to back down and responded in the home half of the fourth.  A grand slam and a Hawks error allowed the Lady Panthers to pull ahead 6-5.  Chowan battled back in the fifth using eight hits and two errors to score eight runs in their half of the inning.  Baker highlighted the frame with a two-run homerun to center, her third of the day. 
 
The Lady Panthers scored a run in the fifth and the sixth, while the Hawks also added two runs to earn the 15-8 win.  Lincoln picked up the second win of the afternoon after throwing five inning in-relief of Groce.
 
Chowan heads to Petersburg, VA this week in search of their second CIAA Championship.  Brackets and game times will be released as they become available.