GREENSBORO - A big third inning that included a three-run homer and crippling errors led Youngstown State to an 11-3 win over North Carolina A&T Friday afternoon in A&T's first game of the 2012 North Carolina A&T Softball Invitational.
Sophomore Dominique Smith led the Aggies with a 2-for-2 performance that included two RBI. There were three other games on Friday with one of those games being rained out. Earlier in the day, Utah Valley defeated Youngstown State 8-0, and Western Carolina scored three runs in the home half of the sixth to beat Marist 5-4.
The Aggies played the third game of the day, while the fourth game, Utah Valley versus Western Carolina, was stopped because of rain in the top of the third with no score. Those two teams will resume their contest Saturday morning at 9. The remaining Saturday games will be played in the order they were originally scheduled.
A&T was able to get its game in among sunny skies and a wicked wind at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex. The Penguins jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second and opened the home of half of the third with a Haley Thomas bunt single. Thomas stole second and was put on third thanks to an Aggies error at third base.
With runners on the corners, Jordan Ingalls stepped up and hit an Ashira Dobison 1-0 fastball to the deepest part of center field for a 5-0 Penguins lead. The Penguins kept their rally going as Vicky Rumph doubled to left-center. She moved to third on an impressive fly-ball catch in foul territory by Aggies right fielder Raven Smith. Smith lunged and caught the ball over her right shoulder to put out Brooke Meenachan.
Smith's great play was negated by another Aggies fielder error as Rumph was allowed to score to give the Penguins a comfortable 6-0 lead.
A&T responded in the fourth as Juanita Jernigan led off with a double to right. An infield single by Detavia Kenan put runners on first and third. After Kenan stole second, YSU starter Hana Somogyi (1-1) retired the next two batters. But Dominique Smith provided a clutch two-out RBI single up the middle on a 3-2 fastball from Somogyi to bring the Aggies to within 6-2.
YSU took control of the game again in the fifth. Consecutive singles from Thomas and Courtney Ewing put runners on first and second. Dobison (0-2) walked Ingalls to load the bases with no outs. Head coach Mamie Jones then turned to freshman right-hander Alexandria McAfee in an attempt to prevent another big inning by the Penguins.
McAfee delivered, getting Rumph to hit a groundball to third baseman Hope Fletcher. Fletcher fired a strike to home plate to put out Thomas, but catcher Tranea Jones' attempt to double up Rumph at first, sailed over the head of first baseman Jernigan, allowing two more Penguins to score for an 8-2 advantage. The throwing error allowed Rumph to reach third, setting up an RBI single from Meenachan.
Another Aggies run was added in the fifth as the tables turned. It was two Penguin miscues that allowed the Aggies to get their final run of the game. After a Jones single, Jernigan reached on an error that moved Jones to third. Jones came home on a fielding error by shortstop Samantha Snodgrass to pull the Aggies to within six at 9-3. But the Penguins were able to add a run in the fifth and a run in the sixth to end the game on the mercy rule.
Rumph went 2-for-3 for the Penguins and scored three times. Thomas had a three-hit performance that included an RBI, and Haley Knight had added two RBI as Youngstown improved to 2-2. Seven different Aggies recorded hits on Friday as they dropped to 0-3.
A&T will play Western Carolina at approximately 12:30 p.m., on Saturday at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex.
