WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Junior
Devin Long (W, 5-10) delivered a strong pitching performance as North Carolina A&T beat Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) opponent Monmouth 5-1 in the first game of Friday's softball doubleheader at MU Softball Park.
Monmouth won the nightcap 6-5 on a walk-off single. The split moved the Aggies to 19-31 overall, 4-17 in the CAA. Junior
Destiny Sims stood out, going 4-for-8 with a double, triple, home run, four RBIs, and three runs over two games. In Game 2, Sammy Miller's walk-off single lifted the Hawks to 19-28, 9-11 in league play.
Long fired a complete-game six-hitter, fanning three and allowing only one walk during her time in the circle. Offensively, she benefited from sophomore
Ayanna Mears, who delivered a 2-for-3 performance with three RBIs and a run scored. Mears powered a two-run homer in the fifth to break the game open, handing the Aggies a four-run advantage. It marked her third home run of the season and the fifth of her career.
Long maintained control after a two-out single in the fourth inning, retiring the next four batters before issuing a walk to Ella Stevenson in the home sixth. She then struck out the next two before Kaitlynn Place singled, but escaped the jam with a flyout to left. In the seventh, she pitched a one-two-three inning to secure the win.
In the second game, the Aggies took the lead in the visitors' seventh before Miller's walk-off single. Junior Jamari Ross started the frame with a single off Carah Sumpter (W, 5-4), who entered the circle to open the seventh. Olivia Lewis (S, 1) replaced Sumpter after the single, and freshman
Tia Montgomery replaced Moss as a pinch runner. Montgomery moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from junior
Trinity Glover.
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Shandi Brown groundout then moved Montgomery to third for Sims, who proceeded to hit an inside-the-park home run to give the Aggies a 5-4 advantage. It marked Sims' first home run of the season and the second of her career.
Maliyah Alexander returned to the circle for the Aggies after entering the game in the sixth inning for
Aaliyah Williams. Bri Lawson greeted Alexander with a single.
Mackenzie Bloss followed with a one-out single to put runners on first and third. Sumpter's RBI single scored Lawson, tying the game 5-5. A fielder's choice by Place allowed Place to reach, but Bloss was eliminated from the base paths trying to reach third base. The putout put the Aggies one out from forcing extra innings. Instead, Miller took the first pitch she saw from Alexander and scored Sumpter to end the ballgame.
Brown went 2-for-4 in Game 2, and Sims drove in three runs on two hits. Ross was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Bloss went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Mears put the Aggies ahead in the first with an RBI double. Monmouth regained the lead with two first-inning runs; Ross tied it 2-2 in the second with an RBI double. Sims gave A&T the lead in the fifth, but Bloss answered with a solo home run in the sixth.
Miller gave the Hawks a 4-3 lead in the same inning with an RBI single before the explosiveness of the seventh inning. Game 3 of the series is on Sunday at noon.
