MEMPHIS, Tenn. – On Saturday, the North Carolina A&T softball program could have secured its biggest win since becoming a fast-pitch program in 1994.

After a hard-fought 8-7 loss to Northern Illinois University (NIU) during the second day of the University of Memphis's Blues Invitational at the Tigers Softball Complex, the Aggies recovered to defeat the host Memphis Tigers 8-5 in an impressive Aggies victory over a Group of Five school from the American Athletic Conference.

A&T's fast-pitch program has wins over the likes of Marshall (2003) and UCF (2004), but perhaps none of those schools has as high a profile name as Memphis. Therefore, sophomore Jaden James's grand slam catapulted the Aggies to a huge historic win, certainly the biggest one in the three-year Jose Gonzalez, Jr. head coaching era at A&T. James would also hit a grand slam against NIU earlier in the day.

When Memphis's Aubrey Williams and Ariel Davis both belted two-run home runs in the bottom of the second inning off A&T junior starter Aaliyah Williams, it didn't appear as if the Aggies were headed toward one of the biggest wins in program history. The home runs gave the Tigers a 5-0 lead as the Aggies replaced Williams in the circle with junior Devin Long (W, 1-2). Long walked Neely Taylor before getting Mya Clark to pop up to first base.

The Aggies had an emphatic response in the visitors' third inning. Memphis's troubles started when sophomore Aniya Merritt reached on an error that allowed junior Shandi Brown to reach second with one out. That led to junior Bria Finley loading the bases with a single. Another throwing error by the Tigers allowed junior Jamari Moss to reach, and Brown to score to put the Aggies on the board.

Sophomore Tyra Robinson recorded the second out of the inning when she hit into a fielder's choice that allowed Memphis starting pitcher Jericho Tate (L, 1-2) to throw out Merritt at home plate. However, freshman Taniyah Thomas kept the rally going with a single to score Finley, cutting Memphis's lead to 5-2 while reloading the bases.

That allowed James to step to the plate for one of the most gigantic swings in program history. Tate worked a 3-0 count to a 3-2 count before James wacked a flyball deep to left field for a grand slam homer to give the Aggies a 6-5 lead. The grand slam chased Tate from the game for Taniyah Brown, who got sophomore Ayanna Mears to ground out to end the frame.

Long overcame giving up eight walks over 5.1 innings pitched to keep the Aggies in the lead. The defense behind Long assisted her by not committing an error on Saturday. Her teammates helped her in the fourth and fifth innings. Katriel Williams singled, advanced to second on a throwing error, and went to third on a wild pitch. Brown rewarded her journey around the bases with an RBI groundout to give A&T a 7-5 lead.

In the fifth, an error allowed Moss to reach before freshman pinch runner Tia Montgomery replaced her on the base paths. Robinson advanced Montgomery to second on a single before a wild pitch moved the base runners to second and third. After a strikeout, Memphis relief pitcher Jazmine Chavez loaded the bases when she walked James. Mears then gave the Aggies a three-run lead with an RBI single that scored Montgomery.

Long did give up a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, but Deana Cunningham innocently flew out to right to secure the win for A&T.
Earlier in the day, the Aggies played a wild game against NIU. A&T trailed 5-3 going into the top of the seventh, but James hit the first of her two grand slams on Saturday off Hannah Bolly (W, 2-0) to give the Aggies a 7-5 lead heading into the home seventh.

Danielle Stewart started the Huskies rally with a solo homer off sophomore Lauren Hardy. Freshman Maliyah Alexander (L, 0-2) replaced Hardy in the circle and gave up back-to-back singles to Kayla Estrada and Katy Ramage. Mia Morera took advantage by hitting an RBI double to center to tie the game at 7-7 by scoring pinch runner Cara Cruthers. An A&T fielding error would permit the winning run to score in the heartbreaking loss for A&T.

Thomas went 2-for-4 for the Aggies, which included a double and two runs scored. Finley scored twice and went 2-for-3. The Aggies close out the Blues Invitational against Morehead State at the Tigers Softball Complex at 11 a.m. on Sunday.