GREENSBORO (May 3, 2018) – North Carolina A&T softball saw their season come to an end Thursday with a 14-4 non-conference loss to Campbell at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex. Three seniors – Nathaly Pacheco, Raven Gray and Talisha Jenkins – played their final ballgames at Lady Aggies Softball Complex.
Pacheco went 1-for-3 in her last game home game. Pacheco ranks as one of the toughest players to strike out in the nation ranking 62nd in the nation and third in the country. In her two-year career at N.C. A&T, Pacheco struck out only 15 times in 261 at-bats and finished her career as a .270 hitter. She was also a solid defensive catcher with a career .961 fielding percentage and she caught 25 baserunners trying to steal.
Gray had a two-run RBI triple on Thursday. She was an All-MEAC selection in 2016 and a preseason All-MEAC pick in 2017. Gray ends her career with a .300 batting average. She ranks among the best at N.C. A&T triples finishing her career with 13. Jenkins also had a hit on Thursday. She will close her career with a .940 fielding percentage.
Junior Mohagony Headen is scheduled to return next season. Headen went 1-for-2, scored twice and had a home run. Headen finishes the season as the Aggies home run leader.
But the Camels (26-24) just got off to too good of a start and the Aggies (7-37) never recovered. Campbell led 12-2 after the first three innings. Katie Manring had the big hit in the first inning for Campbell as she hit a two-run RBI triple to right center for a 3-0 advantage.
Three doubles led to the Camels scoring in the second. They got an RBI double from Rachel McCollum, a two-run RBI double from Lizabeth McCurry and an RBI double from Manring to take a 7-0 lead.
N.C. A&T got on the board in their half of the second. Sophomore Stephanie Williams walked to lead off the inning. Junior Taylor Martin sacrificed her to second with a bunt which led to Headen two-run shot to center field. It was her 10th career home run. But Campbell's five-run third that included a two-run RBI double from McCollum and a three-run homer from McCurry gave the Camels a comfortable lead.
The Aggies did post two more runs. In the fourth, junior Zadia Davis put runners on first and second with an infield single. It led to Gray's two-run RBI triple to make it a 13-4 game.
Haley Hutchins (7-6) got the win in the circle while Hailee Cutts (0-10) took the loss.
N.C. A&T will try to regroup led by the veteran leadership of Headen and junior Zadaisha Waddell. Waddell led the Aggies in batting (.356) and ERA (3.61) for the second straight season. Waddell led the team in multiple-hit games with 11 and Headen had the longest hitting streak of the season (9) and she ranked eighth in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference with 90 strikeouts.
