Simmons records four hits on the day

Box Score vs. Howard     Box Score vs. Hampton
LEXINGTON, S.C., April 13, 2007 – The North Carolina A&T softball team couldn’t come up with big hits in both of its losses at the MEAC Roundup on Friday. The Aggies lost to Howard 9-5 in their first game of the roundup at Pine Grove Sports Complex. Later in the day, they lost to Hampton 3-0.

The Aggies continue play in the roundup on Saturday with a noon game against Delaware State. At 4 p.m., the Aggies will take on Coppin State.

In the first game on Friday, the Bison came up with timely hits, leaving just two runners on base throughout the game. Meanwhile, the Aggies left 11 runners on base, including three in the top of the seventh when they had a chance to tie the game.

N.C. A&T trailed 9-2 going into the seventh, but freshman Jessie Larson smashed a two-run homer to center field off Howard starter Dale McNeal to cut Howard’s lead to five. Fellow freshman Tangala Conover would keep the rally going by benefiting from an error by Candice Tatum at shortstop. After the first out of the inning was made by Lillian Bullock, senior Tabitha Veney singled to left to put runners on first and second.

Junior Sylvia Felder loaded the bases with one out as she singled to left field. But freshman Britney Reddick popped out, leaving the Aggies with just one out remaining. Junior Chaola Simmons kept the game going by beating out a groundball to short. Conover scored, putting the tying run at the plate in Yahamma White. On a 2-2 pitch, White lifted a high fly ball to left field that appeared headed over the fence.

But Sukai Curtis-Contreras extended her left arm over the fence to snag back White’s potential home run to end the game. Simmons led the Aggies with three hits, while Larson, Veney and Felder had two hits apiece. McNeal earned the win and improved to 12-9. Adia Dial was the losing pitcher.

The Bison’s big inning came in the third. Trailing 2-0 going into the inning, Courtney Young got the Bison on the board with a two-run single to right-center field, scoring Brianne Gutierrez and Tatum. Kristina Cordova gave the Bison the lead for good with an RBI single that scored Young. The Bison capped of its six-run third when Sasha Philpot, who was pitching in relief for starter Adia Dial, unleashed a wild pitch allowing Curtis-Contreras to score from third.

Against the Hampton, Pirates pitcher Amanda Black pitched a complete-game shutout, giving up just three hits and striking out four. Hampton beat Norfolk State earlier in the day 7-6 in 10 innings, and are now 21-8 overall and 6-0 in the MEAC. With the earlier loss to Howard, the Aggies are 18-25 and 4-4 in the conference.

Hampton gave Black all the runs she would need in the first inning. Tesara Liggins, who had two hits in the game, led the game with a slow roller to Aggies starting pitcher Adia Dial. Dial fumbled the ball as she removed it from her glove, allowing the speedy Liggins to reach first on an error. Liggins was taken off the base pads thanks to a fielder’s choice that forced her out at second.

But Hampton slugger Maggie Wolfe still made the Aggies pay for the earlier error by just getting a home run over the center field fence to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. Sasha Philpot replaced Dial to start the second and pitched well by going six innings, surrendering just one earned run and striking out three. The Aggie bats, however, never came alive.

 An Aggie never reached third base, and the Aggies didn’t have a runner advance to second until the fourth inning. Black helped herself by earning a one-out single. Ashley Weissenback’s groundout to second allowed Black to advance to second. From there, Liggins singled to center, scoring Black.

 Black ran into some trouble after retiring the first two batters in the Aggies half of the second. Brittany Davis allowed a Jessica Cooper groundball escape under her glove to keep the Aggies hopes alive. But Chaola Simmons hit into a force out to end the game. Black improved to 12-4 on the season, while Dial lost her second game of the day and fell to 5-10 on the season.