GREENSBORO, N.C. – Norfolk State's offense came alive in game 1, but North Carolina A&T shut down the Spartans in the second contest in a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at the Lady Aggies Softball Complex.
 
NSU pounded out 13 hits in game 1, and three players had at least two RBI. With a two-run lead after five innings, the Spartans scored three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to pull away for a 13-6 win.
 
The Aggies, however, limited NSU to five hits in the second game in a 7-2 victory over the Spartans to earn the doubleheader split.
 
The Spartans (9-12) led at the start of both games. But unlike in game 2, they were able to keep it going in the first contest.
 
NSU scored a pair of runs in the first. Freshman Jazzmaine Hammond singled and senior Jaylene Pryor reached on an error before junior Kylee Lopez lined her eighth double of the season to bring home both. The Spartans loaded the bases later in the inning, still with one out, but the Aggies (3-14) were able to escape the jam.
 
They then turned around and scored three runs in the bottom of the frame. Raven Gray tripled home two runs and then scored on another RBI hit to give the Aggies a 3-2 lead.
 
Pryor tied it up with an RBI single in the second, and the Spartans added three more in the fourth. Pryor and junior Hunter Halford singled, and Lopez also walked in between to load the bases. A bunt from senior Seana Moriarty scored one run, and freshman Tuli Iosefa followed with a two-run single into center for a 6-3 lead.
 
Gray hit a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth to make it a one-run game. Lopez' RBI single in the fifth gave NSU a little bit of cushion before the Spartans got even more in the last two innings.
 
Freshman Skylar Swain's RBI double in the sixth got things started, and sophomore Cher Jamison followed with another RBI double. A&T's fourth error of the game, and the third on the outfield, allowed Jamison to cross the plate as well.
 
Then in the seventh, Pryor scored on a wild pitch before Halford launched a two-run home run to right center to score Lopez. The Aggies tacked on a run in the bottom of the inning for the final margin.
 
Pryor scored four runs in the first game while hitting 2-for-4. Lopez and Halford each hit 2-for-3 and scored two runs apiece. Lopez also drove in three while Halford had a pair of RBI as well.
 
Jamison also finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Swain (5-3) allowed eight hits and five runs, three earned, in six innings for the victory in the circle.
 
Gray batted 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI for the Aggies.
 
Iosefa also drove in a pair of runs, and she had both RBI for the Spartans in game 2 as well. They came in the first inning after NSU loaded the bases with two outs. Iosefa lined a single back up the middle for a 2-0 advantage.
 
Aggie starter Zadaisha Waddell helped herself out with an RBI single in the first. The Aggies added three runs in the second, including a pair of RBI singles to take the lead for good. They added another run in the third on an RBI double and two more in the sixth on a pair of RBI hits.
 
Waddell (1-1), meanwhile, made it through the first and ultimately allowed five hits and two earned runs in all seven innings.
 
The Spartans will head to the state of South Carolina to take part in the Holy City Showdown from Friday through Sunday at the College of Charleston.