Philpot strikes out 10 in Game 1

Box Score     Box Score 2
GREENSBORO, March 23, 2007 – The North Carolina A&T softball team has several freshman standouts who might not understand what it means to beat Florida A&M in five innings, but seniors like Adia Dial, Tabitha Veney and Jessica Cooper can surely fill them in on all the details.  

Cooper hit one of four home runs hit on the day by the Aggies as they swept the Rattlers for the first time in 10 seasons with a 7-3 win in Game 1, and a 13-4 victory in five innings at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex on Friday afternoon. It was a huge step forward for an Aggies program that has seen Florida A&M combine with Bethune-Cookman to stand at the top of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for years.

In fact, the Rattlers came in as the defending MEAC Champions having won the title over Delaware State at LASC last season. But the Aggies didn’t seem to be impressed. Lillian Bullock homered in the second inning of Game 1 wth two outs, and Cooper opened the third with a solo home run over the left-center field fence to put the Aggies up 2-0.

Florida A&M starter Ashely Jones would walk the next two Aggie batters in Sylvia Felder and Chaola Simmons. Dial sacrificed them into scoring position, and Jessie Larson loaded the bases when she was hit by a Jones pitch. With two outs, Veney was also hit by a Jones pitch, which forced Felder home. Simmons gave the Aggies a 4-0 lead when she scored on a wild pitch.

The Aggies rally was more than enough for starting pitcher Sasha Philpot, who has been dominant on the mound lately. Philpot cruised until the sixth inning when she gave up earned runs for the first time in 21.1 innings pitched. Alyssa Watts broke up Philpot’s streak when she double to left-center to score Nakendra Jones and Rhianna Green to cut the Aggies lead to 5-2.

The Aggies answered in their half of the sixth with a RBI single by Dial that scored Simmons. Dial would later score on a wild pitch to put the Aggies up 7-2 heading into the seventh. Philpot finished the game by pitching seven innings and striking out a season-high 10 batters. Cooper had two hits in the game.

The Aggies finished off the Rattlers in five innings in Game 2 thanks to a 10-run third that was highlighted by a Bullock grand slam that followed a pinching change that put Game 1 starter Jones into the game. Later in the inning, freshman Tangala Conover went deep for a two-run homer that scored Larson, who also scored on Bullock’s grand slam.

Adia Dial earned the win in Game 2 as she improved to 4-6 on the season. Conover went 2-for-2 with three RBI, and freshman Britney Reddick was 2-for-3 in Game 2. The Aggies improved to 14-17 on the season and will play at S.C. State on Sunday before returning home to play UNC-Greensboro in a Tuesday 2 p.m., doubleheader.