PETERSBURG, Va. – The opening round of the CIAA Softball Championships didn't start on a positive note for Bowie State on Thursday afternoon, but the Bulldogs ended the day with a win to advance. Bowie State dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Johnson C. Smith before rebounding to defeat Virginia Union 8-3. Bowie State (19-19) stays alive in the double elimination losers bracket and will take on Johnson C. Smith again on Friday (5/5) morning at 10 a.m. at the Petersburg Sports Complex, weather permitting.
Over two games, the Bulldogs were led by juniors
Inaya Jones (Baltimore, Md.) and
Jacqueline Pickering with three hits each. Jones and junior
Nicoleen Ochoa (Madison, Ohio) recorded three RBI apiece in the split. The Bowie State foursome of sophomores
Tiffany Bearns (Lusby, Md.) and
Megan Visele (Great Mills, Md.) and juniors Ochoa and
Emily Lewis (Aberdeen, Md.) tallied a pair of hits each.
In game one versus Johnson C. Smith (17-14), the Golden Bulls scored two runs in the top of the 1st inning following a Morgan Hasty hit barely cleared the centerfield fence for the early 2-0 advantage.
Bowie State was able to get one run back in the bottom half of the 1st inning when junior Ja'Seph Smith (Bowie, Md.) scored (unearned) on a dropped throw to first base. Smith opened the inning with a leadoff walk.
The Bulldogs knotted the game at 2-all in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Sophomore
Jaelyn Belt led off the inning with a walk and later scored courtesy of single to left by Pickering.
With two outs in the top of the 3rd inning, back-to-back singles by Johnson C. Smith's Hasty and Tia Mahoney to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Kaitlyn Santos stepped up and stroked a single to left center, pushing Mahoney across the dish for the eventual final margin of 3-2.
Victoria Lopez earned the win for the Golden Bulls while Ochoa took the loss for the Bulldogs.
Bowie State had no trouble with Virginia Union in game two, jumping out to a 4-0 cushion after two innings of play. Ochoa went deep for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the 2nd inning for a 1-0 lead. Back-to-back singles to the right side of the Lady Panthers defense put Bulldog runners on base with no outs. Bowie State's next two runs were scored via a passed ball and wild patch for a 3-0 advantage. Lewis provided the fourth run of the game after another Virginia Union error.
The Virginia Union Lady Panthers were finally able to put a run on the scoreboard in the top of the 3rd inning. Shontel Linnette hit a solo homerun to left center with two outs, but still trailed 4-1.
The Bulldogs got that run back in the bottom half of the 3rd inning on a throw over to first that scored Jones.
Jones notched her team leading sixth homer of the year in the bottom of the 5th inning to push the Bowie State lead to 6-1 and increased its lead to 8-1 after six innings. Jones was responsible for the Bulldogs' final two runs after she ripped a triple down the right field line, scoring Pickering and Jones.
The Lady Panthers pushed two runs across the plate in the top of the 7th inning but the deficit was too much for Virginia Union (10-15) to overcome, eliminating VUU from the championships.
