GREENSBORO - The North Carolina A&T softball team's chances of advancing to the 2011 MEAC Tournament seemed slim going into Saturday's first game of a doubleheader at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex. Yet, the Aggies gave it their best shot. Bethune-Cookman, the MEAC Southern Division's No. 1 team, needed a late push to defeat the Aggies 9-7. The Wildcats won the second game 20-1.

N.C. A&T played the first game without senior Ryanne Hill, who attended commencement after earning her degree in animal science. Without their key slugger, the Aggies took a 4-1 lead on a Sabrina Edmonds home run in the fourth. It was Edmonds second homer of the game. She hit a two-run home run in the second.

The Wildcats battled back in the fifth. Ashton Hinds hit a three-run RBI triple to right field to tie the game at 4. Aurelia Gamch followed with another extra base hit, a double down the left field line, to give the Wildcats a 5-4 lead. Cesley Tofoya closed out the five-run rally with an RBI single.

Dominique Smith continued to challenge the Wildcats. After an Edmonds double in the fifth, Smith scored on an error by Hinds in center field. Tranea Jones tied the game at 6 with an RBI double. N.C. A&T was able to regain the lead in the sixth as Morgan Chappell's RBI single led to a Detavia Kenan run.

But Allison Garcia crippled the Aggies' chances at an upset with a three-run homer to center field in the seventh. The Aggies put two runners against Garcia in their half of the seventh, but Garcia struck out Kenan to end the game.

Tiffany Macklin led the Aggies in the first game by going 3-for-3. Sabrina Edmonds added three hits and three RBIs, which included the two home runs.  The Aggies (7-34, 1-10) will not finish in the top four in the MEAC Southern Division, thus preventing the Aggies from competing in next week's tournament in Ormond Beach, Fla. The Wildcats improved to 28-23 overall and 11-0 in the MEAC.