Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BOWIE, Md. – The Lincoln University softball team faced a must-win situation in order to reach the CIAA Spring Championships on Saturday and the Lady Lions delivered with a thrilling doubleheader win over Bowie State to claim the fourth and final spot in the Northern Division.
 
Lincoln (8-16 overall, 4-11 CIAA, 3-6 CIAA North) rolled to a 7-1 win in the opener and fought off two game-tying rallies by Bowie State in the second game to defeat the Lady Bulldogs in a thriller, 13-11, in nine innings at the Lady Bulldogs Field.
 
The doubleheader sweep ensures that Lincoln, which will be heading to the tournament for the first time in school history, will be playing in next week's CIAA Spring Championships in Petersburg, Va., hosted by Virginia State University.
 
“I am extremely proud of my team,” Lincoln second-year head coach Amber Sneed said. “The team has worked hard all season. The seniors have been here for four years working hard to reach this point and I am glad the team was able to get them to the tournament. For me, in my second year, it is a dream come true. I feel so blessed and honored to have a tremendous staff and wonderful players.”
 
In the first game, the Lady Lions pounded out 15 hits, led by Avree Morton (Uniondale, N.Y./Holy Trinity HS) and Mariah Liberty (Waterbury, Vt./Harwood Union HS) with three each.
 
Lincoln opened the scoring in the first inning with a run and took a 3-0 advantage with a pair of runs in the third.
 
With one down, Morton singled to left and advanced to third when Toni Smith (New Castle, DE/William Penn HS), who went 2-for-4, doubled to left. Morton scored on a wild pitch, which moved Smith to third. With two down, Liberty singled to left to score Smith from third.
 
The Lady Bulldogs (6-24, 4-12) cut the deficit to 3-1 with a run in the bottom of the third, but the Lady Lions made sure there would be no comeback by scoring a run in fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings to earn a 7-1 win.
 
Mariah Coates (Reading, Pa./Reading HS) and Danielle Owes (Edgewater Park, N.J./Burlington County Institute of Technology) also finished with two hits, while Emily Woodruff (San Diego, CA/Madison HS), Erin Rucker (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights HS) and Jasmine Dabney (Baltimore, Md./New Town HS) each had one.
 
Rucker (7-13) picked up the win with a complete-game, six-hitter and fanned seven.
 
Mariela Hernandez (4-11) took the loss as she gave up seven runs (five earned) on 15 hits with 11 strikeouts in seven innings.
 
In the second game, the Lady Lions quickly took a 3-0 advantage and led 6-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
 
Needing just three outs to reach the CIAA Spring Championships, Lincoln saw its chances of reaching the tournament dwindle as Bowie State rallied with four runs on four hits and took advantage of a pair of errors to tie the game at 6 and force extra innings.
 
In the eighth, Lincoln plated four runs on four hits and seemed on the verge of clinching that fourth spot in the CIAA Northern Division, but again Bowie State refused to go away quietly and tied the game at 10 with a four-run eighth.
 
The Lady Lions, who pounded out 17 hits, broke the 10-all tie with three runs in the ninth to grab a 13-10 advantage.
 
Because of the International Tiebreaker Rule was in place, Rucker started the frame on second base. Liberty reached on a bunt single to move Rucker to third. Dabney reached on an infield hit to plate Rucker and move Liberty to second. With one down, both runners advanced on a passed ball. Owes stroked a two-single to plate Liberty and Dabney, giving Lincoln a 13-10 lead.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, the Lady Bulldogs were able to plate one run, but it wasn't enough as the Lady Lions advance to their first-ever CIAA Spring Sports Championship.
 
Owes, Rucker and Liberty each had three hits to pace the Lincoln offense. Emily Woodruff (San Diego, CA/Madison HS) and Smith finished with two hits, while Morton, Dabney, Mariah Coates (Reading, Pa./Reading HS) and Shira Miller (Seattle, Wash./Roosevelt HS) each collected one.
 
Rucker, who carried a no-hitter into the sixth, picked up the win with gutsy nine-inning performance. She surrendered 11 runs (seven earned) on 10 hits with nine strikeouts.
 
Hayley Flint (2-10) took the loss as she gave up 13 runs (10 earned) on 17 hits and fanned 13 in nine innings.
 
The Lady Lions travel to Petersburg, Va., for a doubleheader against Virginia State at 11 a.m., on Sunday, April 14. The first game will be counted as a CIAA contest.