MT PLEASANT, SC – North Carolina A&T received another stellar pitching effort from junior
Aaliyah Williams (L, 6-6), but fell 2-1 to the College of Charleston Cougars in a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) softball game at Patriots Point on Sunday.
By losing the pitchers' duel, the Aggies dropped the series 2-1 and fell to 14-22 overall and 1-8 in the CAA. The Cougars' strong pitching came from two players: Jules Raymond pitched four innings with one hit, one run, and five strikeouts.
Raymond walked six batters, leading to the Aggies leaving eight runners on base. Mackenzie Mathis (W, 3-0) pitched the final three innings, allowed one hit, struck out two, and kept the Aggies from scoring, helping the Cougars improve to 16-17 overall and 7-2 in league play. The Aggies left two on in the first inning after Raymond walked junior
Shandi Brown and freshman
Ava McCauley to start the game.
Raymond responded by striking out the next three batters she faced to send the game into the bottom half of the first inning.
Aaliyah Williams got the win for A&T on Saturday by shutting down the Cougars after the second inning. She kept the momentum going into Sunday's contest.
Charleston went down in order in the first and second innings. Meanwhile, junior
Trinity Glover homered in the visitors' second inning to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead. Glover smacked her third home run of the season and the 11th of her career.
A&T threatened in the third as Brown walked and reached second on McCauley's sacrifice bunt. After Robinson popped out, James was hit by a pitch, and Mears walked to load the bases. Raymond struck out junior
Destiny Sims to end the threat. The Aggies' missed chance allowed the Cougars to tie the game in the bottom third.
Karlee Hughes led off the frame with a single, eventually moving to third with one out. Audri Bates made the second out in the inning on a pop-up to first base. However, Bronwyn Conroy delivered a clutch two-out base hit to left, bringing home Hughes and tying the game. After this brief momentum shift,
Aaliyah Williams gave up only one hit combined in the fourth and fifth innings, including striking out the side in the home fifth. But the Cougars did score the winning run in the sixth.
Conroy led off with a single. She moved to second on a stolen base before advancing to third on a wild pitch with one out. That set up Leela Langston's RBI sacrifice fly to center field that scored Conroy, giving the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
Aaliyah Williams struck out Halle Cannon to end the frame, sending the game to the seventh inning.
Unfortunately, Mathis retired the Aggies in order to clinch the series. Mears also had a hit for the Aggies, and Brown reached base three times on walks. Conroy led the Cougars by going 2-for-3. Next up, the Aggies face the other HBCU in the CAA, the Hampton Pirates. Game 1 of a three-game series at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex occurs Friday, March 27, at 2 p.m.
