EAST GREENSBORO – After a weekend sweep of the College of Charleston Cougars, North Carolina A&T is very much in the thick of things when it comes to qualifying for the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Softball Championship Tournament in 2 ½ weeks in Hempstead, NY.
Aided by a seven-run fourth inning, the Aggies completed their first-ever CAA three-game series sweep on Sunday at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex with a 7-2 win. A&T improved to 15-29 overall and 8-10 in the CAA.
The top-8 teams from the regular-season standings qualify for the conference tournament. A&T stands in seventh place, a game behind the Cougars, who are 17-27 overall and 9-9 in conference play. More importantly, the Aggies are 2 ½ games clear of being eliminated from the tournament, which puts them in a great position, with two three-game CAA series remaining.
During the first game of a doubleheader on Friday against the Cougars, the Aggies produced an eight-run sixth inning to win 8-6. On Sunday, they scored a barrage of runs a little earlier with some timely hitting and Cougar miscues. Trailing 2-0 going into the home fourth, the hitting portion of the inning started with Aggies third baseman Dezianna Patmon's leadoff single to right center.
Patmon went to third on a throwing error, and first baseman Kiara Richards went to second on a fielder's choice on the same throwing error. Patmon came home on an RBI single from Jocelyn Bennett to cut the Cougars lead to one. Richards moved to third on the single and later scored to tie the game at 2-2 on the throw down to second when pinch runner for Bennett, Moriah Terry, stole second.
Shortstop Mikayla Layton gave the Aggies the lead for good by blasting a two-run homer to left center for a 4-2 A&T advantage. After Layton hit her third homer of the year, the Cougars replaced starter (L, 8-7) in the circle with Payton Lemire. But Lemire ran into trouble also. First, she walked left fielder Sierra Baldwin on four pitches. Then, after striking out designated player Joey Barkhimer for the first out of the inning, Lemire also walked Latianna Langley.
Second baseman Alyxx Estrada followed by hitting into a fielder's choice to eliminate Langley from the base paths as Baldwin moved to third. Baldwin scored on a throwing error by Cougars shortstop Ella Campbell that also allowed Katriel Williams to reach and Estrada to advance to third. Patmon brought both runners home with a two-run single to give the Aggies a 7-2 lead going into the fifth.
Senior Kayla Douglas (W, 4-7) took care of the rest from the circle for A&T. From the fifth inning, Douglas only gave up one hit and a walk. The Cougars lone hit off Douglas after the fifth inning came in the seventh inning when Aniz Roman earned a one-out single. But Douglas retired first baseman Shealyn Starks on a groundout to short and before third baseman Karlee Hughes flew out to left to end the game.
Patmon led the Aggies by going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Roman went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Roman's RBI single came in the third inning, giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead. Roman later scored on an error in the inning to account for Charleston's 2-0.
The only games remaining on the Aggies schedule are CAA affairs. They start a three-game series at traditional rival Hampton on April 29 with a 1 p.m. doubleheader before they play Piedmont rival Elon in a three-game series beginning with a May 5 doubleheader at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex.
