Aggies softball honors Simmons and Felder

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GREENSBORO, April 27, 2008 – The North Carolina A&T softball team took care of business at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex by using a six-run fifth to defeat Norfolk State 7-4 Sunday as seniors Chaola Simmons and Sylvia Felder were honored before the game as a part of Senior Day.

The Aggies then received good news from Florida. Florida A&M defeated Bethune-Cookman to give the Aggies a share of the MEAC Southern Division title. It is the program’s first regular-season title of any kind. The Aggies are 29-15-1 overall and 9-3 in the MEAC, the same conference record Bethune-Cookman’s holds.

The Wildcats will be the Southern Division’s No. 1 seed in the MEAC Tournament because they beat the Aggies two out of three this season. The Aggies have clinched the No. 2 seed in the South, which means the Aggies will likely play either Morgan State or defending MEAC Champion Howard from the North to open the tournament. But before the Aggies get to the tournament – played May 8-11 in Ormond Beach, Fla. – there are a few things head coach Mamie Jones wants to correct.

“We need to continue to play consistent and not have points where we don’t play well defensively,’’ said Jones. “We also can’t wait to hit the ball. You’re going to face the best pitchers in the tournament, so we have to be ready to hit the ball. But I am proud of what we have been able to do thus far.”

After beating the Spartans in five innings twice thanks to the 8-run mercy rule on Saturday, the Aggies did have a tough tussle with the Spartans on Sunday. A Micki Rodriguez homer to left and two errors on one play by the Aggies helped Norfolk State take a 2-1 lead over the Aggies in the fourth.

But the Aggies bats awoke in the fifth. Freshman Ryanne Hill hit a one-out single to right, which was followed by a RBI triple from Channing Statham to tie the game at 2. Sophomore Brittney Reddick continued the rally by launching a towering shot to center field that almost left the park. It resulted in a RBI double for Reddick and 3-2 Aggies lead. Felder, who had nine RBIs on Saturday, recorded another RBI with a single to right to score Reddick.

Felder’s hit chased away Spartans reliever Sarah Wittwer and placed Rodriguez on the mound. Rodriguez ran into more trouble. After getting Simmons to line out, she walked Yahamma White and surrendered a RBI single to right off the bat of Tangie Conover. Larson closed out the offensive inning by hitting a two-run RBI single to right field to score White and Conover for a 7-2 Aggies lead.

The Spartans kept fighting. Ashley Archer hit a two-run RBI single off of Aggies starter Jennifer Luper to move the Spartans to within three. But Luper settled in, retired the last five batters she faced and made history in the process. She improved to 19-4 on the season and broke the school record for wins in a season. She broke the record teammate Sasha Philpot set last season.

The Aggies return to action Wednesday when they face arch-rival N.C. Central in a 2 p.m., doubleheader from the Lady Aggies Softball Complex. If the Aggies win both games they will tie the school record for wins with 31.