ORMOND BEACH, Fla. - Shamaria Engram launched a two-run
homer and Karina Romero had two hits and scored twice to lead Bethune-Cookman
to a 6-1 win over North Carolina A&T in the 2012 MEAC Softball Tournament
at Ormond Beach Sports Complex Thursday night.
The loss moves A&T into the losers' bracket of the
tournament. The Aggies (16-34) will play Savannah State in an elimination game
scheduled for 10 a.m., Friday. The Tigers swept the Aggies in three games this
season.
"We just couldn't get the timely hits when we needed
them," said A&T head coach Mamie Jones. "I thought we were right there until
late in the game. They got the big hits they needed, and we didn't. "We'll come out tomorrow and try to take better
advantage of our opportunities."
The Aggies were looking for their second straight upset
of the day after they defeated MEAC Northern Division No. 1 seed Delaware State
Thursday morning.
But Engram helped to end those efforts in the fifth inning.
A&T starter Ashira Dobison and her counterpart Shanel Tolbert were
entangled in a pitchers' duel. Engram lifted a two-run homer to left field, following
a single by Romero, who moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Amari Foster kept
the Wildcats momentum going by tripling to right-center field. After Calesha
Shelley reached on a bunt single, Dobison tossed a wild pitch over the head of
catcher Sabrina Edmonds. Forster scored to give B-CU a 3-0 lead.
Romero drove in another run in the sixth as she singled
to score Sabrina Ferguson, who led off the inning with a single to left field. Engram
drove her third run of the day with a double to right-center field to give the Wildcats
a commanding 5-0 lead.
"I thought (Engram's) home run was huge for them," said
Jones. "It gave them the spark they needed, and the game just became easier for
them from there."
The Aggies did get on the board thanks to an error by the
Wildcats. With one out in the seventh, B-CU third baseman Kelsey Rodney scooped
up a routine grounder off the bat of Zabresha Blakeney. Rodney's throw to first,
however, sailed wide right, allowing Blakeney to reach second. Tiffany Macklin
brought her home with a single up the middle.
But Tolbert, who did not give up an earned run on
Thursday night, got first baseman Alexandra McAfee to pop out, and Hope
Fletcher to groundout, to end the game. B-CU improved to 28-29 and won for the
12th straight time over A&T. The last A&T win over B-CU
happened on May 3, 2009 at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex.
