Orangeburg, SC – Fayetteville State had a lot of dust to shake off in their first softball game since March 7, 2020, which was a total of 377 days (1 year, 1 week, and 5 days) ago. The Broncos almost upset the 2019 CIAA Runner-up in an 8-7 loss in the first of the twin-bill and had a tougher time in a 9-4 second game. The double-header matchup was held at the North Road Complex in Orangeburg, SC.
 
Grace Vincent led the attack with four hits in six at-bats.  Fayetteville State had three home runs with M'Smrya Seward, Angel Johnson, and Lana Reed hitting the long ball. Breana Brown and BreAnna Steele each suffered the loss in the pitching circle.
 
Fayetteville State fell behind early in the opener, trailing 0-5 after two innings. M'Smrya Seward hit a grand slam homerun in the fourth inning to close the gap to one.  With the next at bat, Angel Johnson (Carthage, NC) knocked one over the fence to tie the game at 5-all and force a Claflin pitcher change.
 
In the sixth inning, after a Seward single and stolen base, Johnson whacked a double up the middle to give the Broncos a 6-5 advantage. She would later score for a two-run lead on a Breana Brown RBI that grounded out to the pitcher.
 
Claflin would knot the game up (7-7) in the bottom of the sixth after back-to-back scores. In the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and two runners on base, the Broncos hope of extra innings were dashed with a Shani Thomas walk-off single for the Panther win.
 
In the second game, Claflin would once again dominate the start with a 7-0 lead after two innings. Tanika Powell scored the Broncos first run in the fourth inning on a passed ball. She would cross home plate once again in the sixth for an unearned run from a single by Anya Adams.
 
Down 9-2 in the seventh, Lana Reed hit a two-run homer to left center field for the 9-4 final score.
 
Fayetteville State will return to Lamon Street Park for its home-opener doubleheader on Sunday, March 21^st against Claflin University. After his first week on the job, FSU's 12^th Chancellor Darrell Allison will throw out the ceremonious first pitch at 1 pm.