Howard Clinches MEAC North With Sweep of Hawks
By Michael Zonkowski
Special to howard-bison.com
PRINCESS ANNE, MD. - The Howard University softball team captured their second consecutive MEAC North regular season title Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore.
The Bison (24-20, 14-1) offense scored early and often in games one's 11-3 victory with designated hitter Courtney Young doubling to center field to plate Lorae Robinson in the first inning. Young would score on Aisha Ledet's triple just one batter later. Howard tallied three runs in the opening frame, but the Hawks (1-33, 0-15) answered with three runs of their own in the home half.
Howard answered quickly with another Young RBI and a two run second inning, and the route was on. The Bison scored in six of seven innings and recorded two runs or more three times. Young finished the game 3-4 with a walk and three runs batted in.
After a shaky first inning, Carly Martin (9-7) settled in, throwing three innings to earn the win. Jessica Hurston came on in relief and pitched four innings of shutout ball.
Christina McCoy (6-5) was the star of game two, pitching four shutout innings while allowing just one hit in Howard's 10-0 blowout of Maryland Eastern Shore. McCoy helped her own cause in the second inning of a scoreless game, by hitting a two RBI infield single and sparking a four run rally.
With the score 6-0, the Bison tacked on another four run inning in the sixth to end the game by mercy rule. With runners on second and third, Rebecca Kirshner started the two out rally with a two RBI single.
Howard will ride an 11 game MEAC winning streak into the conference tournament which begins Thursday in Ormond Beach, Florida. The Bison will be the top seed in the tournament and look to win their second MEAC Tournament Championship in four years.
