WILMINGTON, NC – North Carolina A&T softball is still searching for its first Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) win after losing to UNC Wilmington 9-1 in five innings at Boseman Field Friday night.

The Aggies dropped to 7-21 overall and 0-7 in conference play after being held to one hit. The Seahawks saw their record improve to 16-12 overall and 2-5 in league play. They were helped by a 2-for-2 from Maggie Pertee, who scored twice and drove in a run.

Senior Joey Barkhimer (L, 3-9) got the start in the circle, going 3 2/3 innings, striking out two and walking three. UNCW started Makaula Huddleston (W, 9-5). She threw five innings, striking out seven and walking one. She received help early from a three-run UNCW first inning.

Barkhimer pitched her way out of the second inning without the Seahawks scoring despite UNCW loading the bases after there were two outs in the inning. Barkhimer got Mackenzie Amodeo to pop out, sending the game into the third inning with the Aggies trailing 3-0. The Seahawks did get RBIs from Morgan Britt and Lauren Cope in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead before the Aggies got on the board in the visitor's fourth.

Huddleston walked freshman catcher Tyra Robinson to open the frame before Robinson stole second. A strikeout and a groundout followed, but on Katriel Williams' groundout, Robinson moved to third. That set up Robinson scoring on a passed ball, cutting UNCW's lead to 5-1.

UNCW put the game away in the bottom of the fourth as Cassidy Relay walked and Pertee singled. On Pertee's single, Relay came home on a throwing error. Averie Daughtry followed by doubling to left field to score Pertee for a 7-1 lead. Pinch runner Ava Tsiouplis scored the third run of the four-run fourth inning on a throwing error before an RBI single from Britt put the Seahawks on the brink of victory with an eight-run lead going into the fifth.

In the A&T fifth, Ayanna Mears secured a two-out single to avoid the no-hitter. But sophomore Jamari Moss grounded out to end the game because the  Seahawks had an eight-run lead after 4 ½ played.

The two CAA schools will face each other again on Saturday, with the first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.