BOX SCORE

(PETERSBURG, Va.) Bowie State University moved one step closer to the CIAA Championship game, handing Saint Paul's College a 11-3 defeat. The win improves the BSU Lady Bulldogs record to 22-6 while the Saint Paul's College Lady Tigers dip to 13-12. 

Bowie State took control of the game from the very beginning. Junior pitcher Faline Brown (Inwood, W.Va., Hagerstown C.C.) sat Saint Paul's down in order in the first inning. Brown got Cherrell Jones to ground out and struck out Whitney Foster and Stephanie Gray to retire the side. BSU's Lady Bulldogs sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning, pounding out 11 hits and scored nine runs.

The Lady Bulldogs added another run in the third and held Saint Paul's scoreless over the first four innings. SPC's Lady Tigers were able to score three in the top half of the fifth inning after Brown was lifted for senior Tiffany Toney (Abilene, TX, Abilene Cooper, The University of Oklahoma ). Saint Paul's got two of their four total hits off Toney, forcing Bowie State to play another half inning with BSU leading 10-3.

Senior Virginia Hockey (Bowie, MD, Mount Saint Mary's University) opened Bowie State's portion of the fifth inning, reaching on an error by Saint Paul's third baseman Keeyana Brown. Hockey advanced to third on back-to-back passed balls. Fellow senior Tricia Corbin (Glen Burnie, MD, Old Mill) pushed Hockey across for the game-ending run after lacing a double through the left side of the Lady Tigers defense.

Toney and junior Kelley Alexander (Damascus, Md., Covenant Life, Montgomery College) paced Bowie State with a game-high three hits each. As a team, Bowie State accounted for 16 hits against Saint Paul's pitcher Scherrie Smith.

Bowie State advances to the semifinals and will dual with Fayetteville State University - tomorrow (4/17) on the campus of Virginia State University. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m.