GAME 1 | Fayetteville State 11, Johnson C. Smith 5
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - Fayetteville State controlled the afternoon from the opening pitch, riding a dominant outing from Kevana Deberry and a steady stream of timely hits to defeat Johnson C. Smith 11–5 on Friday in Charlotte. Deberry set the tone early, piling up nine strikeouts over six innings while working through traffic and keeping the Broncos in front every step of the way. Laila Holloway finished the job with a sharp seventh inning that included two strikeouts.
The Broncos wasted no time getting on the board, pushing across two runs in the first inning and immediately putting pressure on the Golden Bulls. Their biggest surge came in the third, when the offense erupted for four runs. Deberry helped her own cause with a two‑run single, and by the end of the frame Fayetteville State held a 4–0 lead. Johnson C. Smith responded with three runs in the bottom half and added two more in the fourth to close the gap to 5–4, but every time the Golden Bulls threatened, the Broncos answered.
Xztashya Porter delivered one of the game's biggest swings with a bases‑clearing double in the fourth that pushed the lead back to three. Treja Patterson added an RBI walk in the fifth and later doubled home another run in the seventh to give Fayetteville State even more breathing room. Sydney Jackson sparked the offense with two extra‑base hits, and six Broncos finished with multiple hits as the team out‑hit JCSU 14–8.
Fayetteville State never surrendered the lead after its early burst and played clean defense throughout, taking advantage of five Golden Bulls errors while committing none of its own. With the win, the Broncos improved to 16–17 overall and 8–3 in conference play, continuing to build momentum as the season winds toward its final stretch.
