GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T played its softball home opener on Friday and put on an offensive display in front of the home crowd. The Aggies used 12 hits in an 8-2 win over the Coppin State Eagles at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex.
In addition to their excellent hitting, the Aggies received a stellar pitching performance from junior Joey Barkhimer (W, 1-1). Barkhimer gave only four hits and surrendered two runs while walking two and striking one. Amaya Kearse closed the game in the circle, pitching two hitless and scoreless innings.
On the offensive side, four Aggies had multiple-hit games led by senior Alyxx Estrada who went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBI. Jamari Moss added two doubles, a run scored and an RBI. Brenay Howard also had a double, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Destiny Sims scored twice, had two singles and drove in a run.
"The ladies did a good today, and it feels good to get a win in front of your home crowd," said A&T head coach Jose Gonzalez Jr. "From the beginning to the end, it was a good team effort. The ladies hit the ball well today and played solid defense with a lot of communication. They put it all together today, and we won."
After both teams went scoreless over the first 2 ½ innings, the Aggies finally broke through in the home third with a two-out rally. Estrada's walk led to an RBI double from Howard to give the Aggies a 1-0. Moss then ripped a double to right to score Howard before a strikeout ended the inning with the Aggies leading 2-0.
A&T returned in the fourth to add three more runs during a two-out rally. Sophomore shortstop Makayla Layton hit a double, followed by a single from Sims to drive home Layton and give A&T a 3-0 advantage. After Sims stole second, Estrada drove her home with a double, and Brown's single brought Estrada around the bases for a 5-0 A&T advantage. Howard flew out to center field to end the inning.
Coppin rallied in the fifth off Barkhimer with two outs. With runners at first and second, Celeste Gonzales rolled a single down the left field line to score Xzylia Maravilla to cut the Aggies lead to 5-1. Coppin added another run when Aniyah Haley singled to right, scoring Avianna Peterson, who reached base on a walk. Barkhimer got Manaia Fonoti to fly out to center to end the threat.
A&T answered with a run in its fifth as a leadoff double from Moss led to an RBI sacrifice fly from Camryn Caldwell to put the Aggies ahead by four runs. The Aggies added two more runs in the sixth with an RBI double from Estrada and a pinch-hit RBI single from Kayla Taylor. Coppin loaded the bases in the seventh with two outs, but Kearse got Haley to groundout to end the game.
After the win, the Aggies and Coppin State will play a noon doubleheader from the Lady Aggies Softball Complex on Saturday.
