GREENSBORO - North Carolina A&T junior Hope Fletcher saw a pitch coming in high and tight from Norfolk State reliever Liz Riley and knew exactly what to do with it.

Fletcher shortened her swing and pulled the pitch to right field for a walk-off RBI single as the Aggies defeated Norfolk State 3-2 in the first game of a softball doubleheader at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex on Wednesday.

Coincidentally, Fletcher came up again in the bottom of the seventh of Game 2 with an opportunity to produce another walk-off moment for the Aggies. This time, reliever NSU reliever Jamie Schulle kept the ball away from Fletcher's hands, and she hit a groundball opposite field to third base to end the game as the Spartans earned a split with a 6-5 win.

Neither game counted as a conference game because the Spartans are in the Northern Division of the MEAC. Only games against Southern Division MEAC teams count toward the conference standings.

"It felt great to come back home and get a win against a team in our conference," said Fletcher. "It's been awhile since we've been home, so it felt good to win."

The Aggies (5-12) overcame a 2-0 deficit in Game 1 to put themselves in position to win. Sophomore Detavia Kenan opened the home half of the seventh with a double off of Riley. Sophomore Tiffany Macklin followed with a single to left. When Kenan bluffed like she was going home, the throw from left field went home, allowing Macklin to move into scoring position.

Fletcher came up and took the first pitch inside. The next pitch she hit a sharp groundball past NSU first baseman Robyn Mitchell into right for the game winner.

"We waited until the late innings to get disciplined at the plate," said A&T head coach Mamie Jones. "We weren't being very selective with the pitches we were swinging at in the beginning. But we developed more patients in the batter's box as the game went on."

A&T was able to give Fletcher the opportunity to win the game after surviving what could have been a costly first inning. The Spartans put four runners on base during the inning, but stranded two, had one runner picked off and scored just one run off of Aggies starter Ashira Dobison. Dobison gave up one more Spartans run on an RBI double off the bat of Mitchell in the fourth inning.

Dobison (5-8) would give up two walks and one hit over the final three innings of the game to keep NSU scoreless. The Aggies then used the long ball to even things. Sabrina Edmonds got the first crack in the fifth inning as she blasted her third home run of the season over the left fence to bring the Aggies to within one.

Dominique Smith blasted her first home run of the season even though she had no idea what she had done. Smith sprinted around the bases until she got to third base and was informed by Jones, who was coaching at third base, the ball went over the fence in right field. A relieved and chuckling Smith trotted from third to home to tie the game at 2 apiece.

The Spartans (8-6) were able to get a runner into scoring position the seventh, but Dobison got NSU center fielder Danielle Wright to swing at an outside pitch to end the inning on a strike out. It set up Fletcher's heroics in the seventh. Dobison surrendered eight hits and two earned runs, while striking out three and walking two. Riley (6-6) lost Game 1 after pitching one inning of relief.

Edmonds and Kenan had two hits apiece to lead the Aggies. The Aggies' bats continued to give NSU fits in the second game. The Aggies came into the game hitting .217 as a team, but that averaged increased 22 points by day's end after the Aggies had a 14-hit Game 2.

Kenan was the one who benefited the most from being back at home. Her batting average went from .146 to .213 after going 4-for-6 with a run scored. Freshman Raven Smith went 4-for-4 with two RBI in Game 2.

The Spartans took advantage of an Aggies miscue in the seventh to score the game-winner. Second baseman Alina Moriarty hit a sharp groundball to right field. The ball skipped under Raven Smith's glove and rolled to the fence, allowing Moriarty to reach third. Mitchell's groundout to second scored Moriarty from third to give the Spartans the one-run lead.

Raven Smith made up for her two-base error by opening the Aggies seventh with a single through the left side. Kenan followed with another single. Zabresha Blakeney gave the Aggies their third straight single, but it was both a benefit and a detriment. Blakeney hit a fly ball to shallow center field. Wright dove for the ball in center field, but trapped it underneath her hip.

The Aggie runners had to stay in place until they saw the result of Wright's attempt. As a result, Kenan was thrown out at second, leaving runners at first and third. Alexandria McAfee and Fletcher would groundout to end the game.

McAfee (0-5) pitched seven innings and gave up only two earned runs and struck out three. Schulle (5-2) got the win in relief as she surrendered two runs - one earned - in 4.1 innings of relief. The Aggies are back in action Sunday at 1 p.m., as they face Morgan State in another non-conference doubleheader at home.