A day after being swept by Howard in a doubleheader to drop its first season series against a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) opponent this year, the Lady Bears responded with a 15-9 victory on May 1 over the Lady Bison at Banneker Field in Washington, D.C.
With the win, Morgan State managed to salvage a game out of three against Howard and retained its second-place slot in the league standings. The win also ended a 12-game losing skid to the Lady Bison and was Morgan State’s second win over Howard in the past 16 meetings dating back to the 2007 season.
Morgan State’s victory also ended 11 straight road losses at Howard, dating back to the 2004 season and closed out the “Battle of the Beltway” rivalry against the Lady Bison at Banneker Field, as next season Howard will begin playing their home games at a new facility.
The Lady Bears (15-23, 8-4 MEAC) were led by Gabrielle Gomez, who drove in a game-high 4RBI and went 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored. Lydia Walther-Rodriguez (2RBI, three runs) and Devina Brown (two runs, RBI) also went 3-for-5 on the day for Morgan State which increased its hold on second-place in the league standings by two games over Howard and Hampton, who are tied for third.
Jordan Eades earned the win and improved to 11-17 on the season. Eades, who pitched her 17th complete game of the season, surrendered nine runs on 14 hits and had three walks and no strikeouts. Eades was backed by Morgan’s offense, which scored 15 runs on 15 hits and had 14 RBI.
The Lady Bison, who knocked out 14 hits to score nine runs, also committed six errors. Robinson led Howard with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, driving in 4RBI and scored three runs. Rebecca Kirshner went 2-for-3 with a run scored and 2RBI.
Morgan State will now get ready for its season finale, as they host first-place Delaware State in a three-game MEAC series next weekend at Lois T. Murray Field. The series, which gets underway with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 7, followed by a single game on Sunday, May 8 will be for the MEAC North Division title. The Saturday series will be Morgan State Epilepsy Awareness Games, and Sunday’s contest will mark Senior Day and the final home game for Megan Johnson and Tamra Griffin at Lois T. Murray Field.
