Simmons records a career-high six RBI

GREENSBORO, March 8, 2007 – The North Carolina A&T softball team had its five-game winning streak snapped on Thursday with two losses to Hampton, 11-8, 10-5. The losses marked the Aggies first two losses of the season at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex. The Aggies had won eight of their last 10 games played at the LASC before Thursday.

Junior Chaola Simmons led the way in the first game with two hits and a career-high four RBI. In the second game, Tabitha Veney, Simmons and Britney Reddick had two hits apiece.

In the first game, the two five-run Pirate innings did the Aggies in. Despite, a late rally, Jada Jeffries was able to hold off the Aggies in the seventh.

Hampton jumped out to a 5-0 lead on starter Adia Dial. Cassandra Toole did the biggest damage with a three-run RBI double that capped off the five-run, six-hit inning. Yahamma White relieved Dial in the second and gave up a run to move the Pirates lead to 6-0.

The Aggies would get on the board in the fourth. After singles from Lillian Bullock and Veney, Simmons ripped an RBI triple to left-center to score both runners, moving the Aggies to within four. Unfortunately, Evelyn Garcia sparked a five-run fifth with a two-run RBI double as the Pirates took an 11-2 lead.

Dial scored the first run of the inning as she was ushered home thanks to a fielding error by the Pirates. Larson was singled home by Bullock to make it 11-4. With Bullock on third and Simmons on first, Sylvia Felder continued her career year with an RBI single. In the sixth, White’s lead-off triple led to another run as the Aggies closed to within five runs, 11-6.

Simmons capped off her great game with a two-run homer to that moved the Aggies to within three runs. After a Reddick groundout, White and Dial walked to bring the tying run to the plate in Larson. But Larson struck out to end the game. The Aggies drop to 9-9 on the season.