WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Howard University softball split a doubleheader with Morgan State on Sunday, falling 5-0 in game one, and taking game two in extra innings, 5-3, thanks to late heroics spearheaded by Kalita Dennis. The Elk Grove, Ca. native smashed a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th to secure game two. 

Game 1 | L, 5-0

Howard fell in game one to the Lady Bears 5-0. 

The Bison struggled to put a string of hits together, having baserunners in six of seven innings, and could not capitalize. The Lady Bears made timely defensive plays to stifle Howard's momentum at every turn. 

Morgan St. scored a run in each of the first two stanzas. 

The Bears exploded for three runs in the top of the fourth for the final score, 5-0. 

Howard's Luz Aguilasocho was the lone Bison to record muti-hits, recording two hits. 

The Bison stranded six batters. Sydney Hixenbaugh (1-6) got the start in the circle, pitched 1.1 innings in the loss, allowing two runs and three hits. Tracy Mosley came in relief pitch 5.2 innings allowed three runs and six hits. 

GAME 2 | W, 5-3 (11)

In the top of the 11th inning, Morgan State took the lead, on an RBI single to center field. The next three batters were stopped in their tracks. Howard answered back after the runner was advance to third base on a groundout, Ayana Sallee smoked an RBI liner to centerfield to tie the game at three. Instead of intentionally walking Dennis as the Lady Bears done in previous games, the Lady Bears pitched to Dennis. Dennis made them pay for that mistake sending a screamer over the left center field wall for a two-run home run to split the series on senior day. 

Morgan St. opened the game with back-to-back singles up the middle, when MSU's Hayle Bobos RBI grounder plated the game's first run. 

Dennis answered back in the bottom of the first with a homerun straight-up centerfield to tie the game at one.

The Bison celebrated Senior Trinity Gibbs and Graduate Student Kiana Carr before game one. In their final home game, they put on a defensive masterpiece. After giving up a run in the top of the first Carr held the Lady Bears scoreless over the next eight innings, striking out six batters. Gibbs put out eight batters in left field, four of those came in extra innings on hustle plays in foul territories and to shallow left field that helps keep Howard in the contest. 

The Internation rule came into play in the 10th inning. When a softball game is tied at the end of nine innings in MEAC play, the International Tie Breaker rule goes into effect. At the start of each inning, a runner is placed on second base with the intent of accelerating opportunities to score and bringing the game to a speedier conclusion.

It did not take long for Morgan State to attack, with two outs in the top of the 10th inning, the Lady Bears recorded an RBI double to left field. 

Howard answered back when Sydni Jones floated an RBI double down the left-field line to tie the game. The next three batters retired as the game headed to the 11th inning. 

MSU opened the 11th stanza with an RBI single to centerfield to take a 3-2 lead. Carr settled down and retired the next three batters. 

Howard's Sallee RBI single to center field tied the game at 3-3 when Dennis took a 1-1 pitch over the left-centerfield wall to win the game 5-3. 

Carr recorded her seventh win of the season and struck out six batters. 

Dennis went 6-for-14, recording three runs, three RBIs, two doubles, intentionally walked, and stole a base in the four-game series. 

Navarro went 6-for-14, recording two runs, two RBIs, and two home runs. 

Thoughts from Coach Tori Tyson

about the resilience of your young team on senior day

"...I think that one, that's a great way to send Trinity Gibbs and Kiana Carr out. I know that Kiana has been here a short amount of time and I told her that she could still leave a mark and I think she set the bar on how to pitch in these kinds of ballgames and you just got to go pitch for pitch, and our offense, obviously, it was a little slow. And so that can be grueling, and I thought that she did a great job of showing up regardless and waiting for our offense to put something together because we were putting the ball hard in play, and I thought she just, oh my gosh, she was so resilient and Trinity made some big plays in left field, you can't write this up any better. And I want to credit Morgan State that's a great team. And I think we both set a high mark for MEAC softball and a clean game of softball and a extremely competitive ball game..."

... on the defensive play from both sides, no errors committed in 11 innings of play:

"...that second baseman from Morgan State I think she is arguably the best defensive second baseman in our conference and I put her up against some second baseman outside of this conference, and so she again setting the bar for MEAC it's bigger than all of us. We can play good softball in this conference and they proved that right. We didn't make any big-time errors there were some aggressive plays. This is a young group, we had two seniors in comparison to their seven. Kiana set the tone and kept them engaged, man what a game..."

... on putting Sydney Hixenbaugh in at pinch-runner...

"...At the end of the day, you do not need to be judging a book by its cover because I'm going to tell you that Sydney is someone that can move, Sydney is somebody that can run, I thought because they would judge a book by its cover to try to get the lead, not knowing that Sydney could move, so I mean it was strategic and we were low numbers, so you had to do what you had to do. Trinity probably should have three more hits today,  but she's not one of our fastest runners so it was really the best case situation I went through everybody in our dugout and Sidney Hixenbaugh was ready and willing..."

...on Dennis performance

"...Kalita Dennis was made for those moments and big-time players got to make big-time plays and that's what she did here that's what she gets paid to do. I mean I told Camille, Yaya and Kalita those are juniors they had to win the ballgame, right then and there and they delivered..."

...on preparing for MEAC round up

"...to live in this moment for a second, this was a big stepping stone for this program, Morgan State has dominated this program for years to be frank. I think you got to live in this and you got to remember what this felt like, and then make yourself hungry to go start our week we got to be smart because like I said we're not in the best shape, not having that offseason so we got to live in this for a second, we got to heal our bodies and then get our mind right and get ready for the roundup, but I do I want them to be able to be in this moment, and we'll go from there.

UP NEXT:

The Bison will travel to Orangeburg, South Carolina to face the MEAC Southern Division in a four-day roundup.