Alsobrook records a career-high five RBIs

Box Score
GREENSBORO, April 7, 2008 – The North Carolina A&T softball team used daunting combination of strong pitching and unrelenting offense to dominate arch-rival Winston-Salem State 19-1 at the Lady Aggies Softball complex on Monday afternoon. The Aggies also took advantage of some shaky Rams defense as the game ended five innings because of the 8-run mercy rule.

The win completed a three-game sweep of the Rams in which the Aggies only allowed them to score two runs on 11 hits. Aggies freshman starter Jennifer Luper played a part in that. She improved to 11-3 on the season after pitching five innings, surrendering just three hits, striking out four while not surrendering an earned run. Luper has given up just one earned run over her last 21 innings pitched.

Luper got a lot of help from sophomore Bianca Alsobrook who went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two runs scored. Sophomore Tangie Conover added two hits, four runs scored and three RBIs. Sophomore Yahamma White also scored four times.

The win was the Aggies sixth straight. Over those six games, they’ve outscored their opponents 57-9 while holding their opponents to just 24 hits over the same span. On Monday, it took Luper just 45 pitches to finish off the Rams. Thirty-six of those pitches were strikes.

Before Luper even took the mound, however, the Aggies (18-11-1) had already grabbed control of the game. Senior Chaola Simmons opened the game with a telling double in which two Ram fielders collided as the ball bounced between them. The Rams (15-15) fielding woes continued as White singled and moved to third on an errant throw from center field that allowed Simmons to score.

Conover continued to test the rattled Rams defense by hitting a routine fly ball to center that popped out of the fielder’s glove for another Aggies run and a 2-0 lead. Rams starter Desiree Ramirez walked sophomore Jessie Larson, and Larson and Conover advanced on a passed ball. That was followed by a wild pitch that allowed Conover to score.

Ramirez’s walk to Bullock set up a two-run RBI double to left field for a 5-0 Aggies lead. Another dropped fly ball by the Rams put runners on first and third led to a two-run single by senior Sylvia Felder, who was 3-for-3 on Monday, capped off a seven-run first by the Aggies. The Aggies followed that performance with second inning that ended with the Aggies scoring nine runs on eight hits.

The Aggies will try to keep their winning streak going on Wednesday when they host Savannah State 1 p.m., Wednesday from the Lady Aggies Softball Complex.