WASHINGTON - Howard University softball continued to defend the District with a 3-1 victory over Hampton University Wednesday evening. Having won their third straight game at home, the Bison improve to a 7-13 record overall as the Pirates drop 9-11.  

In an exciting lead, freshman standout Maryn Jordan (San Diego, Calif.) stole home on a passed ball to put the Bison up 1-0 in the bottom of the first.  

Hampton retaliated the following inning. With bases loaded, the Pirates set their sights on home. Grounding out to short, the Pirates seized their opportunity bringing in an unearned run off of an error at third.  

In her 1.2 innings pitched, starting pitcher Amelia Weber ( Montclair, Calif.) struck out two Pirates across eight at-bats. Coming in as relief, sophomore Mia Gonzales (Atwater, Calif.) set the tone with her first batter faced striking out looking to close out the top of the second.  

After three scoreless innings for both teams, the action picked up in the fifth. With two runners on base, a popout to right field allowed the Pirates to get within scoring distance. Seeing Janae Lyles returning to the plate and two outs on the board, the Bison decided to walk the fifth year to keep the Pirates from scoring off another dinger. The decision proved fruitful as the Bison closed the inning by tagging Hampton out at first.  

The Bison set the pace for the bottom of the inning early with Sidney Fletcher (Whittier, Calif.) landing on first after sending it to center field. Victoria Brown (Carson, Calif.) followed up with a single to center before stealing second on the throw to third – an attempt to out an approaching Fletcher. Junior Sydni Jones (Whittier, Calif.) approached the box to single to right field, bringing in both Fletcher and Brown for the 3-1 advantage.  

Senior Luz Aguilasocho (Grand Terrace, Calif.) made a huge play in the top of the 7th when a Pirate on first attempted to steal second off a strike. Seeing the sneaky Pirate, Aguilasocho popped up throwing the ball with precision to second baseman Lealani Ricks (Madera, Calif.) for the out.  

The Bison open conference play this Saturday at 1 PM when they face Norfolk State in Norfolk, VA. The first game of the doubleheader will be shown live on ESPN+ and then re-aired on another ESPN platform at a date and time to be determined.