LADY AGGIES ADVANCE TO MEAC SEMIFINAL WITH WIN OVER S.C. STATEJunior Jennifer Luper recorded her second shutout of the day to lead North Carolina A&T to an 8-0 win over South Carolina State, Thursday night at the MEAC Softball Championship T\tournament played at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
The Lady Aggies (27-25) advanced to play Bethune-Cookman Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Wildcats are 3-0 against the Lady Aggies this season. The Bulldogs (9-42) will face Howard in a 10 a.m., elimination game. South Carolina State defeated Howard in its first game on Thursday.
Luper (16-13) earned a shutout win earlier in the day against Coppin State. Against the Bulldogs, Luper gave up four hits over five innings and struck out two. She received offensive help from senior Britney Reddick, who went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
Luper's counterpart on the mound, sophomore Raven Johnson, matched Luper pitch-for-pitch over the first four innings of the game.
North Carolina A&T put together a seven-run fifth by opening the inning with four straight singles. The fourth single was a two-run RBI single by senior Lillian Bullock. Reddick, who was responsible for starting the Aggies rally, was also responsible for ending it. Her RBI single scored Ryanne Hill to give North Carolina A&T the eight-run lead needed to end the contest early.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN ADVANCES TO MEAC SEMIFINALS
Bethune-Cookman advanced to the semifinal round of the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Softball Championship tournament with a 10-2 win over Florida A&M, Thursday evening at Ormond Beach Softball Complex.
B-CU (30-22) , the top seed in the southern division, finished with a game high 11 hits, while FAMU (28-23) tallied four.
Both Cesley Tafoya and Allison Garcia led the Wildcats as they both went two-for-three from the plate with Tafoya scoring two runs with three RBI, while Garcia scored two runs and with one RBI.
The Lady Rattlers were paced by Jasmin Donaldson who was two-for-three from the plate scoring one run.
Second -Team All-MEAC performer Allison Garcia (22-14) picked the win for B-CU allowing four hits, one earned run and striking out nine in five innings, while Amanda Reyes (19-13), an First-Team All-MEAC selection, took the loss for FAMU as she gave up 11 hits and eight earned runs in four innings of work.
FAMU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Garcia singled through to the left side scoring both Courtney Harold and Donaldson.
The Wildcats took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Brianna Leverett scored on a FAMU error. The Ashton Hinds doubled to centerfield to score Bianca Savulak. Hinds would score on a Garcia single to third base. Before a Tafoya two-run homer scored Garcia, giving B-CU a 5-2 lead.
Tameika Jonas added to the Lady Wildcats lead as she singled to right field scoring Michelle Banuelos-Smith, making the score 6-2 in favor of B-CU
B-CU tallied four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Aurelia Gamch scored on a Tafoya single up the middle, followed by a Sarah Ferguson single up the middle that had Garcia cross the plate. Ferguson would score the final run for the Wildcats as she was walked for the 10-2 final invoking the eight-run mercy rule after five complete innings.
This was the third time, these two teams have faced each other in the quarterfinal round of the MEAC Softball Tournament with FAMU winning in 2008 1-0. The Lady Wildcats have won the last two meetings with last year's quarterfinal matchup ending in a 4-3 score.
B-CU will face North Carolina A&T in the semifinal round at 1 p.m., while FAMU will take on Delaware State in an elimination game at 10 a.m., on Friday, May 14.
Admission for the 2010 MEAC Softball Championship is $5 for youth, students and seniors. Discounted ticket packages for all three days can be purchased for $12.