Two more freshmen earn second-team honors

 BALTIMORE, Md., May 10, 2007 – The North Carolina A&T softball team has rarely had a first-team MEAC member since beginning fast-pitch softball play in 1996.

The Aggies softball program made up for lost time thanks to head coach Mamie Jones’ impressive freshman class. Freshman shortstop Yahamma White (Lancaster, S.C.) and freshman second baseman Lillian Bullock (Anchorage, Alaska) earned first-team All-MEAC honors prior to the 2007 MEAC Tournament held at Randazzo Softball Park this weekend.

Two other Aggies earned second team honors, including freshman pitcher Sasha Philpot (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and freshman first baseman Jessie Larson (Morrison, Colo.). The four players recognized are the most postseason accolades the Aggies have received since the fast-pitch program began.                                                                         Yahamma White

White earned first-team honors by leading the MEAC in batting at .425, which also ranks her 20^th in the nation. At one point this season, White’s batting average reached .474. She missed 11 games during the season to recover from a hamstring injury.

Lillian Bullock
Despite her absences from the lineup, White still ranked third in the country in runs scored per game. Only MEAC Player of the Year and Hampton third baseman Maggie Wolfe had a better slugging percentage (.705) than White. To top off her impressive first season as an Aggie, four of White’s seven home runs this season were inside-the-park homers.

Speaking of home runs, Bullock hit plenty of them. Bullock has 14 home runs on the season, which leads the MEAC. During various times this season, she had more home runs than any other freshman in the country. Currently, she has the third most home runs of any freshman in the nation. Bullock is batting .365 with 45 RBI and nine doubles. She is the only Aggie to play every game this season.                          Sasha Phipot

Philpot had one of the best seasons in Aggie history on the mound. She finished 14-9 with a 3.36 ERA. She struck out 102 batters in 148 innings pitched, while walking just 59 opponents. From March 15-23, Philpot went 19 straight innings without giving up an earned run.

Jessie Larson leads the MEAC in RBI with 49, while batting .331 with six home runs. Larson’s defense was also stellar this season. Larson has made just two errors all season and has .995 fielding percentage.

The Aggies begin play in the MEAC Tournament Friday at 12:30 p.m., against Howard.

Jessie Larson