MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State softball had its best chance to pull out a win in the Blues City Invitational in its final game but North Carolina A&T's solo home run in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the difference as the Eagles fell to the Aggies 11-10 on Sunday afternoon at the Tigers Softball Complex in Memphis, Tenn.
The two teams scored in every inning but the fourth and seventh. MSU never led in the affair but tied it at 4-4 after two innings and 10-10 after five and a half.
Leaving 11 runners on base hurt Morehead State (0-9). The Eagles had six runners in scoring position that they could not drive home throughout the contest. The Blue and Gold could only capitalize by scoring twice on A&T's five errors. The Aggies also had three wild pitches and a passed ball. MSU committed two errors and had two wild pitches.
Despite falling short, MSU head coach
Megan Griffith was not deterred.
"(The) hitters did a great job making the adjustments we asked of them," she said. "We saw multiple pitchers and handled them. We struggled on the mound a bit with too many balls on the plate. (But) we fought hard all the way through and are piecing it together."
North Carolina A&T (7-9) scored four times in the first inning after taking advantage of its big bats. The Aggies had a home run, triple and double as part of their six hits.
Morehead State rallied to tie the score in the top of the second. Junior catcher
Sydney Farmer led off with a double to center field, senior right fielder
Taikibrea Campbell followed with an RBI double, before scoring off a two-out wild pitch. Sophomore designated player
Nyla Doiron reached on a dropped third strike wild pitch and then moved up a base after another pitching miscue. Junior center fielder
Maddy Christopher got to first on an error and went to second on a passed ball. Junior second baseman
Sage VanDemark capped off the surge by driving both in with a single to right-center field.
North Carolina A&T tacked on six more runs in the third. It collected five hits and benefitted from two errors.
The Eagles clawed three runs back in the top of the fifth. Junior shortstop
Sela Pickford and Farmer led off with back-to-back singles. With one out, redshirt sophomore left fielder
Marie Perdew plated Pickford with a single. Junior first baseman
Noemye Letendre added a single that sent Farmer home. Dorion walked to load the bases and Christopher notched the team's fifth sacrifice fly of the young season, which scored Perdew. Then VanDemark drew another walk, but the inning ended with the bases loaded.
The Aggies went down in order for the second straight inning giving MSU a chance to draw even in the sixth. Pickford drew a leadoff walk, Farmer reached on a fielding error and Campbell continued her torrid hitting with her second double of the afternoon to score Pickford. Perdew became the fourth straight Eagle to reach base safely, albeit on a fielder's choice. However, her at-bat scored Farmer. Then Letendre's ground out to first base sent Campbell home with the tying run.
N.C. A&T retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Tyra Robinson hit a two-out shot to deep right field.
The Blue and Gold put its leadoff runner on base for the fourth time in the game when VanDemark earned a walk after a full count. The next two batters got out, but Farmer reached safely on the Aggies' fifth error of the day. However, a ground out on the next at-bat ended the contest.
The Eagles recorded nine hits, the seventh time this season they have tallied at least six. A&T registered 13 hits.
Campbell finished the last two days of the tournament with two home runs and two doubles. On the day, she was 2-for-5, with two RBI and two runs. Farmer went 2-for-5, with three runs. VanDemark drew three walks and was 1-for-2 at the plate, while adding two RBI. Perdew and Letendre each had a hit and two RBI. Perdew also scored. Pickford and Christopher also recorded hits. Pickford scored twice, while Christopher had a run and an RBI. Doiron added the other run.
Five Aggies had two hits, with Jamari Ross and Trinity Glover each contributing two RBI. Robison scored a team-high three runs.
Freshman
Allicen Harris only lasted a third of an inning before stepping aside for junior
Ainsley Stubbs. Harris allowed two runs on three hits. She did not have a strikeout or walk. Stubbs lasted one and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs on eight hits. She had two strikeouts and a walk. Senior
Rylie Burney suffered the loss to drop to 0-3 on the season. She surrendered one earned run (out of three) with two hits and a walk. She also struck out three.
The Aggies also used three pitchers. Starter Lauren Hardy threw for one and two-thirds innings. She gave up four runs (two earned) on three hits. She had one strikeout and no walks. Devin Long pitched two and two-thirds innings in relief. She allowed five hits and three runs, while striking out two and walking one. Aaliyah Williams earned the win after pitching two and two-thirds innings. She surrendered three runs (two earned) on one hit, with one strikeout and four walks to improve to 4-2.
Morehead State goes back on the road for next weekend's Eagle Hub City Classic in Hattiesburg, Miss., with five games between Friday and Sunday. The Eagles open with Lamar (11 a.m. ET) and Jackson State (1:30 p.m. ET) on Friday. The Blue and Gold will host its first action on Saturday, Mar. 7, when it hosts defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Illinois.
