Luper wins her 12^th game of the season  

Box Score
NORFOLK, Va., April 26, 2009 – North Carolina A&T starting pitcher Jennifer Luper took matters into her own hands offensively before taking care of business on the mound to lead the Aggies softball team to a 5-3 win over Norfolk State in extra innings Sunday afternoon at NSU Softball Field.

Luper’s two-run homer in the eighth made the difference for the Aggies. With the game tied at 2, the extra inning opened with Tangie Conover being put on second per extra innings rules that permits the player who made the final out in the previous inning to advance to second.

Norfolk State starter Alyssa Velazquez began to help the Aggies. Her wild pitch allowed Conover to advance to third. She then walked Jessie Larson to put runners on first and third. Lillian Bullock’s groundout to second gave the Aggies a 3-2 lead. Bianca Alsobrook made out No. 2 before Luper hit her second home run of the season with a towering shot over the center field fence for a three-run Aggies lead.

In the home half of the eighth, the Spartans placed pinch-runner Casey Pomeroy on second. Luper, who had five strikeouts on Sunday, earned the first out of the inning by striking out Danielle Wright. She put the Aggies one out away from avoiding a series sweep by getting Meghan Ramsey to fly out to left field.

But Amelia Lewis kept the Spartans alive by singling up the middle to score Pomeroy to move NSU to within two. Luper would improve to 12-9 on the season, however, as she got Elizabeth Castaneda to hit into a force out. The win improves the Aggies to 20-19 overall and 4-5 in the MEAC.

Luper was 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored. Larson and Yahamma White had two hits apiece. After trailing 1-0 for most of the game, the Aggies tied the score in the fifth as Luper scored off of a NSU error. The Aggies were able to take the lead in the sixth.

After Conover singled, Larson followed with a RBI triple to right center field to give N.C. A&T a 2-1 lead. The Spartans sent the game into extra innings as Jamie Raab hit a RBI single to center field to score Candice Vasquez in the bottom of the seventh.

The critical play in the inning was Ashley Carter throwing out Raab at second as she tried to take an extra base.

The Aggies return to action Wednesday afternoon. N.C. A&T will complete an earlier game against N.C. Central that was postponed because of rain. The game will start at 1:30 p.m., in the fourth inning with the game tied at 4. Although the game will be played at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex, the Aggies will be the visiting team because the game was originally played at N.C. Central.

The regularly-scheduled doubleheader against the Eagles will start afterward with the Aggies as the home team.