Simmons records three hits in first game

CULLOWHEE, March 15, 2007 – Sasha Philpot shutout Western Carolina over the first six innings of the first game of a doubleheader to help the Aggies snap a nine-game losing streak with a 5-2 win. In the second game, the Catamounts defeated the Aggies 8-3.

Adia Dial and Chaola Simmons, who became accustomed to setting the table for the Aggies in 2006, returned to those roles on Thursday. Dial went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the lead-off spot in the first game, while Simmons went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

In the third, Dial started the Aggies first rally with a one-out single to left field that put runners on first and second with Channing Statham opening the inning with a walk. Runners remained on first and second as Simmons hit into a fielder’s choice that eliminated Statham from the base pads. Jessie Larson put the Aggies up 2-0 with a two-run RBI double to right.  

Simmons helped the Aggies increase that lead in the sixth by leading off the inning with a single. Simmons went to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a Larson groundout. The Catamounts’ defense would let them down as Tabitha Veney reached on an error that allowed Simmons to score.

Lillian Bullock would replace Veney on the base pads thanks to a fielder’s choice. Freshman Britney Reddick followed with a double that scored Bullock before Reddick was caught in a rundown between third and second. An RBI single by Simmons in the seventh gave Philpot a 5-0 lead going into the seventh.

An Aggies error in the second allowed the Catamounts first run, which was unearned. Hauser’s single led to another unearned run for the Catamounts. But Philpot would endure as she forced Hargett into groundout to end an impressive performance. She pitched seven innings, gave up six hits, no earned runs and struck out six to improve to 7-5.

In the second game, Jessie Larson went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Veney also had two hits in the loss. Bianca Alsobrook had a rough first inning on the mound and came away with the loss. The Aggies return to action on Wednesday when they host Winston-Salem State at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex in a 2 p.m., doubleheader.