CHARLOTTE, NC – University of Indiana transfer pitcher Lauren Hardy (W, 1-2) put together the North Carolina A&T softball team's best pitching performance this season, and she hit a home run to lead the Aggies to a 4-0 win over Queens University of Charlotte in the second game of a doubleheader played at The Stick Williams Dream Fields on Wednesday.
The Aggies lost Game 1 to the Royals, 11-4. After the split, the Aggies are 5-13. Queens moved to 4-10.
A&T had two additional home runs besides Hardy's, including an inside-the-park homer by junior Katriel Williams. Sophomore Jamari Moss hit her sixth career home run in the visitor's sixth inning.
Hardy took the help she got offensively and made the best of it by shutting down the Royals' bats. She pitched a complete-game two-hit shutout with five walks and one strikeout. It marked A&T's first shutout since beating Hampton 4-0 on April 23, 2023.
Queens' Jordan Dunn (L, 1-2) pitched well over the game's first four innings. But her pitching counterpart got to her in the A&T fifth. Hardy led off the fifth by taking Dunn's 2-1 pitch over the center field fence to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Trinity Glover kept the rally going with a one-out single to left field.
An error moved her to second base. Another error allowed Glover to score, giving A&T a 2-0 advantage. The Aggies put the finishing touches on the Royals in the sixth with two types of home runs.
Katriel Williams led off the inning by touching all four bases while the ball was still inside the ballpark. It marked her second home run of the season and the second of her career. One out later, Moss belted a traditional homer to left field to put the Aggies ahead by four runs.
The Royals threatened Hardy in the sixth by putting runners on first and second with walks. A sacrifice bunt moved those runners into scoring position before Taylor Jones grounded out to end the frame. Alexi Markle reached third in the seventh for Queens in the seventh after a single but was stranded there to end the game.
Jones (W, 3-1) started the first game of the doubleheader. Queens jumped out to a 4-0 lead before junior Megan Ellis scored for A&T on a passed ball to cut the Royals lead to three after 4 ½ innings. A four-run fourth allowed the Royals to take an 8-1 lead, but after leaving the circle as the Aggies' starting pitcher in Game 1, Joey Barkhimer (L, 3-4) came through for the Aggies at the plate in the visitor's fifth.
After one-out singles from Katriel Williams and Roshell Williams, it was followed by a fly-out from sophomore Destiny Sims.
Barkhimer entered the game as the designated player and blasted a three-run home run to cut the Royals lead to 8-4. It was her first home run of the season and the seventh of her career. The inning kept going with singles from freshman Jaden James and Moss. Duncan entered the game for Jones to get Ellis to hit into a force play to end the threat.
Natalie Windham got the Royals back on track with a two-run homer in the home fifth and added a run in the sixth.
Sophomore Shandi Brown reached on a double in the seventh with one out. But back-to-back strikeouts ended the contest.
A&T starts Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play on Friday when they welcome the Monmouth Hawks to the Lady Aggies Softball Complex for the first game of a three-game series. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 1 p.m.
