March 6, 2008

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LAURINBURG, N.C.—West Virginia State University used the momentum from a 5-2 extra-inning victory in the opener to complete an NCAA Division II softball doubleheader sweep of host St. Andrews Presbyterian College with a 4-0 shutout in the nightcap on Thursday afternoon at Knights Field.

The Yellow Jackets, winners of four straight, move over .500 on the season at 5-3 while the Lady Knights fall to 1-16.

Senior Jessica Osborne (St. Albans, W.Va.) led the WVSU offense with three hits and three RBI. Six other Yellow Jacket batters had two hits on the day.

SAPC freshman Jasmine Dobbin (Pikeville, N.C.) was 3-for-6 on Thursday while senior Erin Haugen (Ft. Mill, S.C.) was the only other Knight with multiple hits on the afternoon.

St. Andrews and West Virginia State both compete in the 2008 Patriot Invitational host by Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C. from Friday to Sunday, March 7-9.

In the opener, St. Andrews grabbed a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Morgan Farroll (Newton Grove, N.C.) stole home on a delayed double steal while Haugen swiped second. Sophomore Nicole Easter (Lumberton, N.C.) followed with a one-hop double to the right field fence that plated Haugen.

The Knights looked ready to shutout the Yellow Jackets but West Virginia State scored two runs on their final at-bat to tie the game and force extra innings. After an error allowed WVSU to load the bases, freshman Margaret Osborne (St. Albans, W.Va.) ripped a two-run double down the left field line to knot the score at 2-2.

The Yellow Jackets exploded for three runs in the first extra frame to complete the rally and win 5-2. Junior Jenni Fowlkes (Dunbar, W.Va.) had a clutch two-run triple down the right field line and then scored on a groundball by freshman Bobbi Harper (Ironton, Ohio).

Senior starter Samantha Kinder (Blair, W.Va.) improved to 3-1 on the season with the complete-game victory. Kinder allowed two runs on five hits while striking out two over 8.0 innings.

St. Andrews senior starter Samantha Stewart (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) was tagged with the loss by giving up three runs on just three hits in 6.1 total innings of work. Stewart tossed five scoreless frames to start the game before returning to the mound in the seventh. Stewart also had two strikeouts.

In the finale, West Virginia State junior starter Diana Humphreys (St. Albans, W.Va.) scattered seven hits over seven innings but was able to keep St. Andrews off the scoreboard en route to a 4-0 complete-game shutout. Humphreys fanned five Knights while evening her record to 2-2 on the season.

Sophomore Kris Taylor (Cross Lanes, W.Va.) put the visitors on the board with an RBI-double in the first inning. Osborne doubled the Yellow Jacket lead to 2-0 with an RBI-single in the fourth. WVSU added two more unearned runs in the fifth including an RBI-single by freshman Bobbi Harper (Ironton, Ohio).

St. Andrews had several opportunities to score but the team was unable to produce the clutch hit leaving eight runners on base. Dobbin reached base safely in all three of her at-bats in the nightcap including back-to-back singles.

Sophomore Daisy Mendez (Miami, Fla.) took the loss after allowing two runs on seven hits over 4.0 innings while striking out three. Stewart added two more K’s in three innings of relief.