GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T showed some early firepower Saturday in Game 2 of a three-game Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) softball series against UNC Wilmington at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex, but the Seahawks used a strong second inning to defeat the Aggies 10-2 in five innings.
The Aggies dropped to 13-17 overall and 0-5 in league play. Meanwhile, the Seahawks lead the series 2-0 after getting a perfect game from pitcher Camile Hamilton on Friday. On Saturday, they produced four extra base hits, bringing their record to 14-10 overall and 2-0 in CAA play. UNCW used a duo in the circle, starting with Makayla Huddleston (W, 3-6), who pitched the first three innings. She gave up two runs on four hits, walked one, and struck out four. Taylor Barlow pitched the final two innings, giving up one hit and no runs while striking out two.
Sophomore
Jaden James sparked A&T's offense, going 2-for-2 with a home run, a run scored, and two RBIs. A&T junior
Aaliyah Williams (L, 5-5) started for the Aggies and pitched 2 1/3 innings, yielding seven runs, with only three earned. She also struck out two Seahawks and issued no walks. UNCW opened the scoring with an error in the first before
Aaliyah Williams got Sierra Persinger to pop out and end the frame.
But Aaliyah Wiliams ran into trouble early in the second as Madison Biddle reached on a bunt single to open the frame. Ava Brookshire followed with an RBI double, followed by another RBI double off the bat of Allison Corbin to give the Seahawks a 3-0 lead. Cassidy Relay then reached on a one-out error, allowing Corbin to score. Another error put runners on second and third with two outs. UNCW's Becca Merrick made A&T pay with a two-run single. An RBI from Biddle gave the Seahawks a 7-0 advantage.
James had an answer in the Aggies' half of the second. Sophomore
Ayanna Mears set things up with a leadoff single. James then stepped up to the plate and hammered a one-out homer over the left-field wall at the LASC for a two-run blast, cutting the Seahawks' lead to 7-2. It marked James's third home run of the season and the sixth of her career.
Unfortunately, the Seahawks tacked on two more runs in the third on a throwing error, pushing the game into run-rule range as they took a 7-run lead. When Biddle crossed home on a wild pitch in the fourth, the Seahawks moved ahead by eight, which meant the Aggies needed to cut the deficit to continue past the home fifth inning.
Freshman pitcher Maliyah Anderson kept the Seahawks from scoring any runs in the visitors' fifth despite giving up two walks. But Barlow set down the Aggies in order in the home fifth to end the contest. Corbin led the Seahawks with a 3-for-3 afternoon that included two runs scored and an RBI. Game 3 of the series is Sunday at 1 p.m. at the LASC.
