Box Score
ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - A fairy tale ending had North Carolina A&T's seven seniors walking away with a MEAC softball championship after finally getting back to the championship game after falling short as freshmen.
Unfortunately, reality was cruel to the Aggies on Saturday. Bethune-Cookman scored five runs in its half of the sixth inning to claim the MEAC Championship with a 7-3 win at the Sports Complex.
It was the Wildcats' first MEAC title in six years. Allison Garcia was named tournament MVP. For the Aggies' seven seniors, it was their second championship game appearance in four years. They are the only two title game appearances in school history.
Junior Jennifer Luper, senior Channing Statham and freshman Hope Fletcher had two hits apiece. Senior Britney Reddick finished the game with two RBIs. Luper, Statham and Jessie Larson were named to the all-tournament team.
"We were close. We were real close,'' said A&T head coach Mamie Jones. "I thought we did a much better job of hitting the ball today, but I thought we left too many runners on base."
The Aggies have faced Garcia, the Wildcats starter, four times in the last seven days, including once in the tournament. In those previous four games, the Aggies had just 17 hits against Garcia over 28 innings pitched. Garcia also had a miniscule 0.25 ERA against the Aggies prior to the title game.
But the Aggie hitters appeared to have figured her out by Saturday. The Aggies recorded nine hits against the junior. Three of those hits came in the fourth. With the Aggies trailing 2-1, Statham led the inning with a single to center field. Senior Lillian Bullock moved pinch-runner Chantelle Statham to second with a sacrifice bunt.
Luper followed with a single to center. Luper's advancement to second on a throw home, set up Reddick's huge two-out, two-run RBI single that gave the Aggies a 3-2 advantage. Senior starter Sasha Philpot (11-12) held the Wildcats off until the Aggies came upon what turned out to be a frustrating sixth inning.
Bethune-Cookman put their first two batters on base to open the inning. Philpot battled back to strike out Aurelia Gamch. The Aggies decided to intentionally walk Garcia to load the bases. It was decision that worked for A&T in the fourth inning when they walked Garcia intentionally.
The strategy appeared to pay off again until an infield error allowed Bianca Savulak to tie the game at 3. Sabrina Ferguson followed with what looked like a double play until another A&T error allowed the Wildcats to take the lead.
A groundout and singles by Joanna Hernandez and Briana Leverett led to three more Wildcat runs that put the Aggies in a four-run hole going into the seventh. When Statham hit into a game-ending double play, the Wildcats claimed their sixth MEAC Championship.
The loss for A&T signaled the end of seven careers that helped turn the softball program in the right direction. White, Philpot, Bullock, Larson, Reddick, Philpot and Bianca Alsobrook won 115 games. At the plate, they hit a combined .311 with 76 home runs, 547 RBIs, 143 doubles and nine triples. In the classroom, they combined to compile a 2.96 grade point average.
Their departure means the Aggies will look dramatically different next season. An impressive senior class is slated to return next season in Luper, Ryanne Hill and Antoinette Torres. Luper won MEAC Rookie of the Year honors in '08, and Hill earned MEAC Player of the Year honors as a sophomore.
Solid outfielders Ashley Carter and Danielle Nguyen will return as juniors next season. The Aggies had five freshmen on the roster this season led by Fletcher and her .275 batting average. Eight more freshmen are scheduled to come in next season, which will turn the Aggies from one of the more veteran teams in the conference into one of its youngest.
The 2010 season comes to an end at 28-27.
