Softball | 2/14/2025 11:24:00 PM
Box Score
COVINGTON, Ga. – After losing their season opener to Florida A&M 7-1 during the first day of the Leonard Moody HBCU Collegiate Softball Invitational at the Turner Lake Softball Complex, North Carolina A&T had a massive eighth-inning rally to defeat the Claflin University Panthers 9-8 thanks to a Katriel Williams walk-off single.
Williams went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, including the game-winning single and a home run. Sophomore Destiny Sims had two hits, including a double and two RBIs.
The Aggies trailed 8-5 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Per extra inning rules in NCAA softball, freshman Jaden James was placed on second base to start the frame. Sophomore Jamari Moss followed with a hit, moving James to third.
James pulled the Aggies to within two after freshman Ayanna Mears hit an RBI single to center field. Moss moved to third, giving the Aggies runners at first and third with no outs. After Mears moved to second, the Panthers made a pitching change in the circle as sophomore Katelynn Grissom entered the game. Sims greeted her with a two-run single that scored Moss and Mears to tie the game at 8-8.
A sacrifice bunt from senior Joey Barkhimer moved Sims into scoring position at second before Grissom walked junior Camryn Caldwell and sophomore Avery Evans to load the bases. A lineout by sophomore Shandi Brown put the game in danger of going into another inning as Williams stepped to the plate with two outs.
But Williams came through, scoring Sims from third with her game-winning single. Freshman Aaliyah Williams (W, 1-1) entered the game in relief and pitched two innings, striking out two. Grissom (L, 0-2) could not hold on to the lead for the Panthers.
The Aggies jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Panthers starting pitcher Sydra Pendleton behind a home run from Mears and an RBI single from Caldwell in the home half of the fourth inning.
The Panthers rallied with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take a 5-4 lead. However, as she would do later in the game, Williams came through for the Aggies in the home seventh with two outs. Williams' single scored Brown to tie the game at 5-5, sending the game into extra innings, where the Panthers scored three runs in the eighth before A&T's rally.
Freshman pitcher Lauren Hardy started the game for the Aggies before Barkhimer entered the circle after Hardy went four innings. Williams took the loss against Florida A&M after earning the start.
The Aggies took a 1-0 lead over the Rattlers in the visitors' first inning as Brown hit a one-out triple followed by an RBI groundout by Williams. But the Rattlers scored seven unanswered for the win.
A&T returns to action in the invitational on Saturday with two games. They play Prairie View A&M at 10 a.m. before facing Jackson State at 2 p.m.
