BOILING SPRINGS (February 11, 2017) – North Carolina A&T softball earned the No. 1 seed in the Gardner-Webb Tournament with a 3-0 win over the Runnin' Bulldogs on Saturday at Brinkley Stadium before losing to No. 4 seed Alabama A&M 9-7 in nine innings.
Zadasia Waddell and Kimberly Brunson were a perfect 2-for-2 from the plate against Gardner-Webb with Waddell putting away two singles and Brunson grabbing her third double of the season, an RBI hit to center field in the fourth. Waddell also improved to 2-0 in the circle, only allowing six hits in her complete-game shut out.
The Aggies made early work of the Runnin' Bulldogs as junior center fielder Raven Gray took advantage of a walk and stolen base opportunity to reach second. Stephanie Williams almost reached on a fielder's choice after a pop fly from Lauren Dunlow, but was able to move Gray to third, who then sprinted home after a throwing error by first baseman Alia Booth.
N.C. A&T would score again in the second thanks in large part to Zadia Davis' speed. Davis had a leadoff bunt single and moved to second on a ground out from Nathaly Pacheco. She used the momentum to advance again, stealing third. A wild pitch gave Davis the perfect chance to steal home, a successful attempt to move the Aggies ahead 2-0. N.C. A&T would tack on their final run of the game in the fourth on the Brunson RBI double.
Defensively, the Aggies put up a strong performance against Gardner-Webb, getting themselves out of a couple close situations in the contest. Williams started the turn of a double play in the bottom of the fourth from her shortstop position, throwing out Callie Thornton at second before Dunlow launched the ball to Brunson at first to beat runner Madi Lewis to end the inning. The Runnin' Bulldogs also found themselves with the tying run at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but a pop up to Davis was enough to secure the Aggies victory and a No. 1 spot to start seed play.
The Aggies' second game of the day proved to be more challenging. Alabama A&M was the first to strike, thanks to a wild pitch from pitcher Mohagony Headen, followed by an RBI single to score the run in the second inning. The Bulldogs scored again in the third on a two-run home run to right field by Ariel Smith to gain a 3-0 lead.
The Aggies would not be outdone, however, as Gray and Dunlow led off the bottom of the third inning with back-to-back singles, followed by a two-run RBI triple from Williams. An inside-the-park home run from Jillian Nobles with no outs gave the Aggies a 4-3 advantage and forced the Bulldogs to change pitchers.
While Alabama A&M took advantage of a bases loaded situation in the fifth to score three more runs, the Aggies would not let the game be decided in only seven innings. Headen would slam a double deep to left center field in the sixth. Alyssa Green followed by hitting the Aggies second home run of the game. The game went into extra innings tied at 6.
In the top of the eighth, the Bulldogs had a chance to seal a victory with a runner on third, but a late jump from the bag gave Green an opportunity to throw out Sierra Smith on her way home. In the bottom of the inning, Morgan Chisholm, who started on second due to international overtime rules, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Nobles, but two pop fly balls didn't give her a chance to make it home.
The heartbreaker came in the top of the ninth inning as Alabama A&M loaded the bases with no outs on a fielder's choice at shortstop that scored one. A single from Smith then moved the Bulldogs ahead 8-6 before scoring one more on an RBI sacrifice foul out from Danielle Hansell to hold a 9-6 lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Green was able to cross the plate after starting on second due to a pop up from Gray to catcher Hansell, but an error gave her the room she needed to sprint home. However, the two following outs from Dunlow and Williams would end the game.
