PETERSBURG, VA. – The Chowan Softball team continued their quest for the CIAA Northern Division crown with a sweep of previously unbeaten in league play, Virginia State, on Saturday afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL | Chowan 8, Virginia State 0 | Chowan 6, Virginia State 3
RECORDS | Chowan 21-12 (10-0, 4-0), Virginia State 15-12 (10-2, 4-2)
LOCATION | Petersburg, Va.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORES
Kris Neal paced the Hawks with five hits on the afternoon including three extra-base hits.
EmaRae Flores, Lindsey Stigler, and Miranda Glover tallied three hits each. Stigler and Haley Cooper recorded two RBI.
Shannon Buchanan tossed a two-hit gem in game one to pick up the win. Shelby Griffis picked up the win in the night cap allowing three runs (two earned).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game One: Chowan 8, Virginia State 0
Kris Neal kicked off the contest with a triple. Lindsey Stigler would bring home Neal two batters later with a double to left. Beth Walker and Brittany Parson drew a walk to load the bases before Stigler scored on a wild pitch to put the Hawks up 2-0.
The Hawks scored two more runs in the third inning as Beth Walker drew her second walk of the afternoon. Brittany Parson would reach on an error before Donya Salman drew her second walk to load the bases. EmaRae Flores singled to center scoring Parson. Another run would come around to score on an error on the throw back in to push the Hawks to a 4-0 lead.
Shannon Buchanan allowed her first hit of the game in the bottom of the third inning but was able to get out of the jam.
Chowan scored four runs in the seventh inning to move the score to 8-0. EmaRae Flores doubled before Mackenzie Taggart reached on an error and swiped second. Kris Neal reached on a single. An error allowed Flores to score. Haley Cooper brought home Taggart and Neal for the 7-0 lead. A RBI groundout by Beth Walker scored Cooper.
Game Two: Chowan 6, Virginia State 3
Virginia State struck first in the night cap as a double in the bottom of the second inning brought home the first run of the contest.
Chowan responded with two runs in the third inning to take the lead 2-1. Mackenzie Taggart singled to start off the inning and stole second. Kris Neal doubled to left to score Taggart. Lindsey Stigler singled home Neal for the lead.
The Hawks added a run in the fourth inning as Mackenzie Taggart drew a walk and advanced to second on a stolen base. Taggart would advance on two wild pitches to score.
Beth Walker and Brittany Parson drew two walks in the fifth before Miranda Glover produced a RBI single to score Walker for the 4-1 advantage.
Two more runs in the sixth inning stretched the advantage to 6-1. Mackenzie Taggart drew a walk before Kris Neal doubled. Haley Cooper hit a sacrifice fly to score Taggart. Neal would move up to third on the sac fly and scored on a wild pitch.
The Trojans would score a run in the bottom of the sixth on an error and another run in the seventh as three hits in the inning allowed Virginia State to close the gap to 6-3. Shelby Griffis buckled down to end the threat with three straight groundouts.
UP NEXT
Chowan will host Virginia Union in a CIAA Northern Division doubleheader on Sunday, April 15. Because of weather the series has been moved up to 10am and 12pm.
