EAST GREENSBORO – Friday afternoon at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex delivered two dramatic finishes and two North Carolina A&T victories. A&T had timely, clutch hitting throughout the day.
In the first game of a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) softball doubleheader against the College of Charleston Cougars, the Aggies scored eight runs in the sixth inning to overcome a six-run deficit to win 8-6. The big inning included a clutch three-run go-ahead home run from Jai Deese.
Game 2 saw the Aggies win 3-2 in eight innings on a walk-off RBI single from shortstop Makayla Layton. The Aggies will win their second CAA series of the season as they improved to 14-29 overall and 7-10 in the CAA, helping their chances of qualifying for the CAA tournament next month. Charleston dropped to 17-26 overall and 9-8 in the league.
The two teams will conclude the series on Sunday because inclement weather is expected on Saturday. Officials have not set a game time.
The outcome of the series opener seemed set in stone. Charleston added a run in the visitor's sixth inning to take a 6-0 lead. But back-to-back errors to open the Aggies sixth put the Aggies on course for its largest come-from-behind win of the season.
After Deese and Dezianna Patmon reached on those errors, first baseman Kiara Richards sacrificed the two runners into scoring position. Freshman Megan Ellis followed with an RBI single to right to finally put the Aggies on the board as Patmon went to second.
Layton loaded the bases by walking on a 3-2 pitch. Charleston replaced starter Caroline Carter with Lauren Sandor (L, 1-1). Aggie catcher Jocelyn Bennett worked the count to 3-1 count against Sandor before hitting a laser down the right field line for her first-career triple. Bennett's three-run triple cleared the bases and cut the Cougars lead to 8-4.
Bennett scored on an RBI single from left fielder Sierra Baldwin to bring the Aggies to within three. The rally continued when right fielder Latianna Langley singled through the left side to put Aggies on first and second. Second baseman Alyxx Estrada also singled, but to shallow center fielder, allowing Kayla Gutierrez to throw out Baldwin going to third for the inning's second out.
That's when Deese, who opened the inning by reaching on an error, stepped into the clutch situation, took the second pitch she saw from Sandor, and launched it over the left-center field fence to give the Aggies their first lead of the game at 8-6. Charleston made another pitching change, with Payton Lemire entering the circle. Lemire got Patmon to ground out to end the Aggies highest-scoring inning of the year.
A&T right-hander Kayla Douglas (W, 3-7), who entered the game in the fourth inning for starter Joey Barkhimer, gave up a one-out single in the seventh before striking out Sierra Paradis and getting Halle Cannon to ground out to complete the A&T comeback.
Estrada went 2-for-4 for the Aggies and scored a run. Shealyn Starks led the Cougars with a 2-for-4 Game 1 that included three RBI.
Game 2 also saw the Cougars take the lead into the late innings. They led 2-0 going into the Aggies fifth; therefore, Estrada utilized an exciting strategy to get the Aggies on the board.
After a Langley single, Estrada's single to right moved Langley to second. But the play was far from over. Estrada began a cat-and-mouse game with the Cougars, resulting in a rundown to move Langley to third before Estrada safely made it back to first base.
As Starks began to walk the ball back to the circle for Cougars starter Lemire (L, 5-14), Estrada made another move toward second. But this time, the Cougars did tag out Estrada in a lengthy rundown that allowed Langley to score to cut Charleston's lead to 2-1. A&T scored its subsequent two runs more conventionally.
In another two-out rally, Langley singled before stealing second to set up Estrada's RBI single to center field to tie the game and send it into extra innings. In the Aggies eighth, Patmon led off the frame with a walk. Then, Kiara Richards singled down the left field line to put runners at first and second.
Katriel Williams moved both runners into scoring position by grounding out before Bennett K'ed. But another clutch A&T hit led to the walk-off as Layton singled to score Patmon for the game-winner. Sharla Kirkpatrick (W, 2-4) pitched 6.2 innings, giving up four hits, no earned runs and striking out two.
