GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T softball played its regular-season finale on Friday at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex.
The outcome mirrored the Aggies' 2026 season: extremely competitive, but unable to get over the hump, falling 8-6 to the Elon Phoenix in eight innings. The Aggies finish 20-33 overall and 5-19 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). Although they will not qualify for the 2026 CAA Softball Championship Tournament, the Aggies' 20 wins are their highest since 2014.
Before the game, the Aggies honored seniors
Camryn Caldwell,
Ma'liyah Martin, and
Katriel Williams in their final LASC appearances. Junior
Destiny Sims went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Junior
Jamari Moss tied sophomore
Tyra Robinson for the team home run lead (8) with her three-run homer.
Jenna Klein led Elon, who improved to 18-31 overall and 12-12 in the CAA, with a 2-for-4 performance with two runs scored and two RBIs.
The Aggies took a three-run lead in the third inning thanks to Moss's 16th career home run. The inning started with an infield single from Sims. She moved to second base on a passed ball before getting to third when sophomore
Ayanna Mears reached on an error. That set up Moss's massive homer to left field to give the Aggies a 6-3 advantage.
Elon chipped away from the Aggies' lead from there as the A&T defense faltered with junior
Aaliyah Williams (L, 8-10) in the circle. Elon produced zero hits in its half of the fourth but still brought across two runs thanks to two A&T errors to cut the Aggies' lead to one. Elon tied the fifth when Greta Hessenthaler singled up the middle for an RBI.
The Aggies had a chance to reclaim the lead in their half of the fifth thanks to a single from Sims and a walk to Moss. But a lineout and a groundout ended the threat, sending the game to the sixth inning.
Aaliyah Williams pitched around a one-out double to keep the game tied 6-6. Elon also stranded a runner in the seventh, and A&T went down in order in its seventh to send the game into extra innings.
A double by Klein and a double from Teagan Baulsir gave the Phoenix the lead. After advancing to third on a flyout, Baulsir scored on a passed ball to give the Phoenix a two-run lead at 8-6. Anna Dew (W, 12-12) struck out the first two batters she faced before walking
Ava McCauley. But sophomore
Jaden James hit into a force play to end the game.
The Aggies had standout performances this season.
Aaliyah Williams finished with 124 strikeouts, fifth in program history. Moss and Robinson's eight home runs tie for sixth in a single season. Freshman
Aniya Merritt's .385 average ranks third-best for an Aggie in one season.
