MT PLEASANT, SC – North Carolina A&T emphatically snapped its six-game losing streak Saturday, defeating the College of Charleston Cougars 11-3 in five innings of Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) softball at Patriots Point.

Sophomore Tyra Robinson led the Aggies, raising their record to 14-21 overall and 1-7 in conference. Robinson went 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs scored, accounting for nearly half of A&T's eight hits. Freshman Ava McCauley added two hits and a run scored.

Junior Aaliyah Williams (W, 6-4) took care of matters in the circle. She gave up four hits and three runs over five innings pitched. She also walked three and struck out three.
After a quiet first inning, A&T struck in the second. Ryley Kutter (L, 2-4) walked Ayanna Mears on four pitches, then walked Trinity Glover with one out. Katriel Williams followed with a two-run triple, giving A&T a 2-0 lead. Camryn Caldwell's groundout scored Williams for a 3-0 advantage.

Charleston answered in the second. Austy Miller doubled, and Haley Wolsky's bunt single put runners at first and third. Karlee Hughes hit a two-run double. Hughes stole second, then scored on a throwing error after Aaliyah Williams walked Sierra Paradis, tying it 3-3. Williams retired the next two hitters to escape the inning.

Building on their defensive stand, Aaliyah Williams locked things down from there, giving up only one additional hit after the second inning. Meanwhile, the Aggies' offense went to work. It started with Robinson opening the visitors' third with a solo home run. Sophomore Jaden James walked, and junior Destiny Sims doubled with one out, leading to a Charleston pitching change. Campbell Schaen replaced Kutter in the circle and started her outing by striking out Glover. But a fielding error allowed James and Sims to score to give the Aggies their three-run advantage back.

Continuing their offensive surge, In the fourth inning, A&T added to its lead as Robinson hit her second home run of the day—this time a two-run shot—making the score 8-3. In the top of the fifth, Kendall Thackston relieved Schaen. With one out, Thackston walked Katriel Williams. Caldwell then hit her first home run of the season, driving in two runs with a shot over the left-field wall. Junior Shandi Brown followed with a walk, and McCauley singled to keep the rally alive.

Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, setting up Robinson for another RBI. This time, she hit a single through the right side to score Brown, putting the Aggies ahead by eight, meaning the Cougars needed a run in their half of the fifth to extend the game beyond five innings. It started out well for the Cougars as an error allowed Sitterding to reach second.

She went to third on a flyball out by Leela Langston before Aaliyah Williams walked Halle Cannon. But Aaliyah Williams retired the next two batters she faced to end the threat and the game. Miller led the Cougars by going 2-for-3. The Aggies will try to win the series on Sunday, with the two teams scheduled to play at 1 p.m.