Ellicott City, MD - A wild week of softball came to a close on Saturday afternoon, as the Howard Community College Dragons split their last series of the week with the Jefferson Community College Cannoneers.

Howard dominated game one, winning by run-rule for their ninth win of the season. Game two was a back-and-forth battle into extras, where the Cannoneers came out on top.

Game One: Dragons 12, Cannoneers 4
Howard opened up the weekend series trailing, as an infield error allowed Jefferson's Kayla Warden to open the scoring. The 1-0 deficit would be the only lead of the afternoon for the Cannoneers, as Howard exploded over the next handful of innings. Howard capitalized on errors in the bottom of the first, with Gianna Peluso (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) scoring to tie the game on a throwing error. Sophia Steele's (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) RBI double brought two runs home to make it 3-1 Howard.

The bottom of the second saw three more runs scored, as Howard continued to mash against the Cannoneers. A sack fly from Madison Hamolia (Odenton, MD/Arundel) brought home Katherine Wright (Dayton, MD/Mount de Sales Academy), while Marissa Webb (Hanover, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) smashed a two-run home run to make it 6-1 Dragons.

A three-run home run from Scout Preston brought the game back into reach for the Cannoneers in the top of the third, but Howard quickly responded in the bottom of the inning. Layla Walker (Laurel, MD/Hammond) hit a two-RBI double to reestablish Howard's lead. On the next at-bat, Marissa Webb (Hanover, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) fouled the ball off her foot. On the next swing, she smashed her second home run of the game to make it 11-4 Dragons. Webb then shut down the Cannoneers bats over the next three innings.

Howard clinched the win in the bottom of the sixth via mercy-rule, as Madison Hamolia (Odenton, MD/Arundel) smacked an RBI single to end the contest early.

Game Two: Cannoneers 7, Dragons 5
Jefferson once again jumped out to the early lead in game two, but this time they took a 3-0 lead courtesy of several errors by the Dragons. A 3-0 lead would stand for the first four innings, until the bottom of the fourth. Marissa Webb (Hanover, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) slapped her third home run of the series to make it 4-1 and start Howard's rally. The Dragons added four more runs, courtesy of a Jensyn Koonce (Chesapeake, VA/Greatbridge) single, a Katherine Wright (Dayton, MD/Mount de Sales Academy) double, and a Gianna Peluso (Ellicott City, MD/Marriotts Ridge) double to make it 5-3.

Howard's lead would last two innings before the Cannoneers finally got their groove back. A sixth inning error by Howard allowed a run to score for the Cannoneers, and Jefferson tied the game on a sac-fly. After a scoreless seventh, the game headed to extras.

Taking advantage of more Howard errors, the Cannoneers scored twice in the top of the eighth, bringing home their extra base runner and scoring on another sac-fly. Howard needed three to take the win, but the next three batters struck out to end the contest.

Howard kept their record even at 9-9 after Saturday's matches, and now turns to a Region 20 showdown with the College of Southern Maryland on Wednesday, March 25 at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM.