Conover goes 3-for-3 in win over UNCW

Box Score vs. UNCW
Box Score vs. CSU
CHARLESTON, S.C., March 6, 2009 – There apparently is no sophomore jinks for Jennifer Luper.

Last season’s MEAC Rookie of the Year struck out seven, surrendered just three hits and walked none in seven shutout innings to lead the North Carolina A&T softball team to a 2-0 win over UNC Wilmington in the opening game of the Charleston Southern Low Country Softball Invitational. The Aggies did lose their second game of the day, 7-4 to Charleston Southern.

Luper improved to 5-2 on the young season. Teams are batting just .213 against her and she has struck out 48 batters in 48.2 innings pitched.

Luper got all the help she needed in the first two innings. With one out in the first, Ashley Carter singled to left field. After a pop up by Ryanne Hill, Tangala Conover reached on a single to right field. Conover’s hit moved Carter to third, which set up Channing Statham’s RBI single that gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead.

The Aggies would add another run in the second on a RBI single from Carter that scored Britney Reddick. From there, the Aggies turned the game over to Luper. Once the Aggies settled down defensively – they committed four errors in the first four innings – Luper swept through the Seahawks’ lineup.

Luper retired the last 11 batters she faced as she earned her 25^th career victory as an Aggie. Offensively, Conover was 3-for-3.

Against Charleston Southern, the Aggies gave up a combined seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pull away. The Aggies tried to rally in their half of the fifth.

RBI singles from Hill and Statham pulled the Aggies to within four at 7-3. Hill would eventually score on a throwing error to put the Aggies down three. The Aggies made another attempt to catch Charleston Southern in the seventh. A single by Carter was followed by a double from Ryanne Hill to put the tying run at the plate.

But Conover lined out to left, and Statham grounded out to second to end the game. Junior Sasha Philpot took the loss despite giving up just three earned runs.