A day after dropping both games of a doubleheader to Florida A&M, Norfolk State returned the favor by sweeping two games from the Rattlers by scores of 6-2 and 7-4 on Sunday at Moore-Kittles Field.
The Spartans (11-20, 7-5 MEAC) earned a split of the four-game weekend series, handing FAMU (12-19, 6-2) its first two MEAC losses in the process.
In the opener, senior right hander Danny Hosley kept alive his amazing streak by tossing a complete game in his fifth consecutive start on the hill. Hosley allowed just three hits and two runs, just one of which was earned, while striking out 10 hitters to improve to 4-1 on the year.
Hosley got early support from his offense, which plated two runs in the first. Dionte Brown and Alsander Womack both singled to start the game, and both scored on a two-out single by designated hitter Jacob Council.
FAMU plated an unearned run without benefit of a hit in the bottom of the first, as Octavien Moyer was hit by a pitch and later scored on an NSU error.
But Hosley kept the Rattlers off the board again until their final at-bat, and NSU widened its lead in the meantime. Adam Collins’ sacrifice fly in the third and Ty Hanchey’s fielder’s choice grounder in the fourth pushed the Spartans’ lead to 4-1.
Hanchey then blasted a two-run homer, his third of the season, to increase the NSU lead to 6-1 in the sixth.
FAMU could manage just a trio of hits in the game against Hosley: third-inning singles by Adam Haiadermota and Jared Weber, and a double by Miles Watson in the seventh. Watson’s double preceded a sacrifice fly by L.J. Bryant that accounted for the only earned run of the game against Hosley, who matched his career high in strikeouts from last Sunday’s game with Delaware State.
Brown was 3-for-4 and Council was 2-for-3 for NSU in game one, accounting for half the team’s hits. Hanchey knocked in three runs.
In game two, Michael Portela pitched the final 3.1 innings without allowing a hit, and NSU rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to complete the sweep of the twinbill.
Bryant singled in a run and Seyjuan Lawrence doubled in two more to stake the Rattlers to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. NSU bounced back with two runs in the top of the second. After a walk and a hit batter, Korey Singh singled in a run and Trent Hanchey’s fielder’s choice grounder knocked in another to bring NSU within 3-2.
Grant Rowell’s RBI double in the third gave FAMU a 4-2 edge. But Womack drew a bases-loaded walk to get that run back in the fourth, and the Spartans took the lead for good with a three-run fifth. A walk, a Council single and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases. Phillip Boykin’s infield single scored Council, and Trent Hanchey walked with the bases loaded to plate Hosley with the go-ahead run. Singh scored on a wild pitch to push NSU’s lead to 6-4.
NSU added an insurance run in the seventh. Hosley led off with a double and scored on Boykin’s season-high third hit of the day, a single to left.
Portela made that lead stand up. The right hander allowed just one base runner, on a sixth-inning walk, to pick up his first win as a Spartan.
Boykin hit 3-for-3, while Hosley was 1-for-2 and scored three times in the nightcap. Singh scored twice and Trent Hanchey had two RBIs.