ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - The Bowie State softball team split a pair of CIAA Round-Up games on Saturday (3/17), trouncing Livingstone 12-0 but were handed a 5-4 setback against Saint Augustine's at the South Park Complex. Senior Jacqueline Pickering (Bowie, Md.) led Bowie State (3-6 / 2-2 CIAA) with five hits in five at bats, scored three runs and recorded three RBI. Senior Inaya Jones (Baltimore, Md.) picked up the win in the circle in game one but senior Nicoleen Ochoa (Madison, Ohio) took the loss in the circle in game two.
 
In the first game of the day, the Bulldogs sent 12 batters to the plate, scoring eight runs on four hits in the opening inning and added a trio of runs in the 3rd inning to hold a commanding 11-0 advantage. Bowie State pushed its final run against the Blue Bears in the bottom of the 4th inning and ended the game early at 12-0.
 
Jones went the distance, facing 17 Livingstone batters, striking out six Lady Blue Bears along the way. Ochoa recorded a game-high four RBI for the Bulldogs on three hits, one of which was a solo home run to lead off the game and scored three runs.  Pickering was second on the team in hits with two while senior Ja'seph Smith (Bowie, Md.) added one hit in the opening game.
 
Livingstone (0-5 / 0-3 CIAA) managed only one hit against Bowie State with that coming off the bat of Alexis Smoot in the top of the 2nd inning.
 
In game two, Saint Augustine's got on the scoreboard first, scoring a run in the 1st and 2nd innings before Bowie State's Bulldogs knotted the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning.
 
Bowie State pushed two across the dish in the bottom of the 4th inning on hits to take a lead at 4-2.
 
Saint Augustine's (6-6 / 3-1 CIAA) got one run back in the top of the 5th inning when Akera McPhaul blasted a homer over the left field fence to trim Bowie State's lead to 4-3. The Lady Falcons regained the lead for good in the top of the 6th inning, courtesy of two-run home run by Marley Parker to seal the win at 5-4.
 
Pickering paced the Bulldogs against the Lady Falcons with a game-high three hits while senior Tiffany Bearns (Lusby, Md.) tacked on a pair of hits. The Bowie State foursome of Jones, Smith, senior Lindsey Fenner (Aberdeen, Md.) and junior Morgan Powell (Upper Marlboro, Md.) were responsible for one hit each in the loss.
 
The Bulldogs will wrap up the Round-Up weekend on Sunday (3/18) morning, taking on Shaw at 9 a.m. followed by an 11 a.m. meeting against Winston-Salem State.