WASHINGTON, D.C. – Howard softball redshirt junior Deja Henderson totaled three hits, including two for extra bases, while driving in five RBIs, but it wasn't enough as the Bison were swept in a nonconference doubleheader by Drexel in their home opener Monday at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy.
Howard (0-10) scored a season-high eight runs in game one, but surrendered seven runs in the top of the seventh to post a 16-8 loss. In the second game, the Dragons jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two en route to a 10-3 victory.
The Bison totaled a season-high 11 hits in the opener, including three from sophomore Jasmine Gibson who went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs. She was one of four players for Howard who had at least two hits in the game, joining Henderson, senior Milan Poindexter and junior Brooklyn Emory.
Both teams scored two runs in the first before Drexel plated the next five to take a 7-2 lead. However, Henderson would pull the Bison back within two on a one-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth that chased out freshman pitcher Devon Grippe, who allowed five earned runs over 3.1 innings for Drexel in the team's season opener.
Howard cut its deficit to 7-6 on an RBI double by Gibson in the fifth, but the Dragons scored nine runs in their final two at bats before Henderson added a two-run double in the bottom of the seventh to provide the final margin.
Senior Alexa Walker dropped her third decision of the season for the Bison after she allowed five runs on eight hits over four innings. Katie Haley earned the win in relief for Drexel after surrendering just one earned run over the final 3.2 innings.
The Dragons (2-0) cruised to victory in game two after scoring seven runs over the first two innings, highlighted by Linda Rush's three-run homer in the top of the first and Erin Okoniewski's two-run single in the second.
Howard got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Poindexter scored on a fielding error, but Drexel added three more runs over the final three innings to take a 10-1 advantage. Rush added her second home run of the game in the top of the sixth with a two-run blast to right center as she finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBIs.
The Bison also added two runs in the sixth, scoring both with the bases loaded on a walk by freshman Noel Merritt and hit by pitch from freshman Tiana Lopez.
Emory finished 2-for-4 for Howard who was 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Freshman Monica Thompson suffered her fifth loss in as many starts this season after surrendering five runs on just three hits in one inning of work.
The Bison were limited to just three runs on six hits by the pitching duo of Tara Konopka and Ilissa Hamilton who did not allowed an earned over seven innings while striking out eight.
Howard does not return to action for nine days until it welcomes UMBC to Nationals Academy for a single, seven-inning contest next Wednesday, March 8 beginning at 7:00 p.m.
