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| COURTESY FAMU ATHLETICS |
SAVANNAH, Georgia – The FAMU Softball team shook off the offensive funk of the past four games Sunday, scoring 22 runs to sweep a MEAC doubleheader from Savannah State at Lady Tiger Field, 7-5 and 15-1.
FAMU (12-19, 2-1 in MEAC Southern) had struggled at the plate until Sunday’s second game, with 15 hits in their last five games before erupting for 14 hits in the five-inning, 15-1 romp.
Assistant coach, Lori Goodart, attributed the success at the plate to focus. “I think our mentality at the plate was much better this weekend. We had sort of a lapse as yesterday’s game was re-scheduled three different times due to the weather, but today we came out with a totlly different and aggressive attitude,” Goodart said.
Brielle Gordon led FAMU with three hits and four RBIs, with help from Denise Anderson, who had two hits and five RBIs. Both players homered in the game to key the FAMU offense, while Christina Robbs and Miesha McBride added two hits apiece.
Gordon belted a two-run homer in the second to extend FAMU’s 1-0 lead to 3-0, then Anderson’s three-run blast in the top of the fourth ignited an eight-run rally that pushed the visitor’s edge to 14-1.
Goodart attributed the big hits to a simple batting technique.
“We hit the ball where it was pitched today. Lately we have been trying to power hit, but today we placed it just where it needed to be placed. In addition, our players were alert and did a good job on the base paths,” Goodart added.
Ashleigh Minter (7-7) was the winning pitcher for FAMU, allowing one unearned run on five hits in five innings of work Sunday.
In Sunday’s opener, the Lady Rattlers snapped a three-game skid with a 7-5 win, taking an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on a steal of home by Alyssa Weaver, and a wild pitch, which scored Brielle Gordon.
Savannah State rallied for four runs in the bottom of the inning to barge ahead, 4-2, but that lead was short-lived, as FAMU scored two runs in the top of the second, as Raven Moseley and Brittany Speer both scored on an error by the Savannah first baseman to tie the game at 4-4.
Savannah State (17-15, 1-2 in MEAC) scored a run in the bottom of the second to regain the lead at 5-4, but FAMU took advantage of a bases loaded walk and a hit batter with the bases loaded, to move ahead, 6-5 in the top of the fifth, adding an insurance run in the top of the seventh on Denise Anderson’s RBI single for the 7-5 final count.
FAMU had four hits in the opener (Denise Anderson, Kieffi Myrick (double), Christina Robbs and Miesha McBride each had hits), but were aided in the win by Savannah State’s pitching meltdown, which saw nine walks issued to Lady Rattler hitters, and five hit batters, plus two errors.
Reliever Kenya Pererira (1-6) got the win in relief of starter Amber Fullwood, who was lifted with two outs in the first inning. Pererira worked the final six and one-third innings, scattering three hits, allowing one run, with four strikeouts.
“We really got good innings in the circle from Ashleigh and Kenya. They did a solid job of keeping runners off the bases this weekend,” Goodart concluded.
WHAT’S NEXT: The Lady Rattlers are at Alabama State Tuesday (6 p.m. Central Time), then host North Carolina A&T in a three-game weekend series this Saturday and Sunday at the FAMu Softball Complex.
COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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