GREENSBORO, NC – Freshman Stephanie Talarek had four hits and five RBIs to lead the UNC Greensboro softball team to a doubleheader sweep of across-town rival North Carolina A&T Wednesday afternoon at UNCG Softball Stadium. The Spartans got good pitching in a 4-0 win in game one, while they slugged their way to a 12-3 victory in the nightcap.
Talarek got arguably her biggest hit to date in her collegiate career with a two-run double over the head of Aggie centerfielder Brittney Hodges to give UNCG (10-14) a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning of game one.
The Spartans later tacked a run on in the fifth with an RBI single by senior Kelly Allen. Consecutive doubles to left-centerfield by juniors Heather Branche and Adriane Audley brought in another insurance run in the sixth to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead.
After loading the bases, senior Danielle Byrne struck out three straight batters in the seventh to end the game. She got the first hitter looking and then hurled six straight in the zone that resulted in consecutive swinging strikeouts by the Lady Aggies.
Junior (5-4) Vanessa Oakes ran her winning streak to three in a row by pitching three-hit ball over 6.0 innings. The Wilmington, NC native struck out eight and yielded no walks. Byrne worked around two errors in the seventh to complete the Spartans second shutout of the year.
Freshman Lyndsay Mouse was 2-for-3 with her fifth double of the year. Audley added two hits from the lead off spot.
Latronda Anderson (4-7) gave up four runs on eight hits over 6.0 innings of work for North Carolina A&T (6-14).
Senior Krista Judge, junior Jennifer Bonilla and Talarek each went 3-for-4 as UNCG pounded out 13 hits and scored a season-high 12 runs in the nightcap.
The Spartans wasted no time by scoring five runs in the first inning. Talarek and junior Kara Clouser laced back-to-back RBI singles to give UNCG a 3-0 lead. Branche followed with a two-run double down the left field line for a 5-0 advantage.
Bonilla roped an RBI double in the second, while Audley drove in two more with a single to center in the third to give UNCG a comfortable 8-0 lead.
The Lady Aggies got two runs back in the fifth on an RBI infield single by Sylvia Felder and Jekesha Herring forced home a run with a bases loaded walk. Christina Brock brought in a third run for the visitors with an RBI groundout in the sixth inning.
Bonilla promptly answered with an RBI double for UNCG in the bottom half of the sixth. Bonilla later moved to third on a wild pitch and scored when Allen reached on an error. Talarek then ended the game with a double down the right field line that scored freshman Leslie Furness and Allen to give the Spartans a 12-3 victory.
Freshman Hannah Angel (4-6) worked the first 4.0 innings to pick up the win. She allowed only two hits and struck out six. Byrne finished up the final two innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits and stuck out two.
Adia Dial (2-7) was the tough luck loser as only two of the 12 runs she gave up were earned. She allowed 13 hits and had three strikeouts over 5.2 innings of work.
Judge scored three runs, while Bonilla, Allen, Furness and Talarek each crossed home plate twice for the Spartans.
AGATE
Game One 123 456 7 R-H-E
NC A&T 000 000 0 0-3-1
UNCG 000 211 x 4-8-2
NC A&T: Latronda Anderson and Christina Brock UNCG: Vanessa Oakes, Danielle Byrne (7) and Leslie Furness
W: Oakes (5-4). L: Anderson (4-7). SV: None.
Game Two 123 456 R-H-E
NC A&T 000 021 3-6-4
UNCG 512 004 12-13-1
NC A&T: Adia Dial and Christina Brock UNCG: Hannah Angel, Danielle Byrne (5) and Kelly Allen
W: Angel (4-6). L: Dial (2-7). SV: None.
- UNCG -
