North Carolina Central University

SOFTBALL

     CHARLOTTE, NC -- North Carolina Central University took advantage of three errors in the second inning to plate the decisive runs in a 4-2 upset victory over No. 1 seed Shaw University in the opening round of the 2003 CIAA Softball Championship at Hornets Nest Park in Charlotte, NC.
     NCCU, the No. 4 seed in the CIAA West, scored three times on two hits and three Lady Bear throwing errors in the top of the second to take a 3-0 lead. 
     Shaw lit the scoreboard in the fourth when Branda Best reached on a two-out, three base error, followed by an RBI single by Andrea Blake. 
     Lady Eagle sophomore Lauren Edwards came up big in the sixth with a two-out RBI single to drive in Candace Spruill and give NCCU a three-run cushion.
     NCCU senior pitcher Jennifer Jones scattered six hits and struck out four without allowing a walk or an earned run. LaToya Martin surrendered just one earned run, but took the loss for Shaw. 
     Facing the threat of rain on Friday and Saturday, the CIAA decided to move Friday's 10 a.m. games to Thursday at 5 p.m. That decision cost the Lady Eagles. Jones, a graduate student at NCCU and the conference leader in strikeouts, missed the nightcap because she returned to Durham to take a final exam. 
     Without their top hurler, the Lady Eagles suffered at 13-3 loss to Fayetteville State. 
     NCCU committed five errors and walked 10 Lady Bears, allowing Shaw to plate 13 runs on just four hits. FSU shortstop Rickita Mays drove in five runs, including a two-run blast to center in the first inning.
     Lady Eagle rookie Taheisha Wilder hit 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored.