DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University softball team did not let the disappointment of missing the 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championship with an 8-6 game one loss on Sunday dictate the result of the second game against North Carolina A&T University as the Lady Eagles dominated play in a 7-0 triumph to put an exclamation point on a breakout season Sunday afternoon at Parkwood Athletic Field.
 
After the NCCU's underclassmen and coaching staff honored seniors Emerie Germ and Tiphani Jackson between games, the Lady Eagles blasted three home runs and rode a complete-game shutout performance by junior starter London Booker.
 
The victory in the rubber game gave NCCU its first MEAC series victory over its in-state rivals from Greensboro. The Lady Eagles wrapped up the season at 18-27 overall and 4-10 in the league. NCCU, under the direction of fourth year head coach Theresa Stephens, doubled its win total from last year. The 18 victories also set a new single-season program record for the still young NCAA Division I era.
 
NCCU needed to sweep the Aggies to advance to the MEAC Softball Championship for the first time but North Carolina A&T rallied for the 8-6 win to take the final Southern Division bid. NCAT finished the regular season at 14-29 overall and 6-9 in conference play and will be the South's fourth seed in next week's tourney.
 
Sophomore Brianna Hampton ripped a three-run homer in the first inning to provide the hosts with an early 3-1 advantage in the first contest. Hampton smoked her blast to center after junior Kayleigh Brueck drew a walk and Germ singled down the left field line.
 
The Aggies regained the lead for good with four runs in the second off four singles and two walks. NCAT then stretched its lead to 8-3 with three unearned runs in the fourth. Half of the Aggies eight runs scored were unearned.
 
NCCU slowly chipped away at the deficit to keep things interesting late. Junior Markell Wylie used her speed to score a run in the fourth reaching on an error, stealing second, advancing to third on a passed ball and scoring on a wild pitch. The Lady Eagles tacked on their final two runs in the fifth on a sac fly by Hampton and an RBI single by Wylie.
 
Hampton drove in four runs while Wylie finished with three hits including a triple down the right field line in the first.
 
The Lady Eagles flew out to 6-nil cushion in the nightcap scoring four runs in the first and two more in the second on a trio of homers. Sophomore Dominique Wilson tagged a three-run missile in the opening frame and then smacked a two-run shot the following inning. Germ followed Wilson's first homer with her own solo shot to the centerfield porch. Wilson's two bombs were her seventh and eighth of the season. Germ finished one behind her with seven homers.
 
Brueck singled and scored in both innings. Junior Casey Hargett produced three singles from the leadoff spot to finish with a team-best .361 average. Hargett drove in NCCU's seventh run with a seeing-eyed single in the fourth. Junior Angelique Perricelli scored on the play after leading off with one of her two infield singles and advancing into scoring position with a stolen base.
 
Booker took a perfect game into the fifth inning retiring the first 13 Aggies she faced. NCAAT senior Zabresha Blakeney broke up the no-hit bid with a clean one-out single through the right side of the infield in the fifth. The Aggies were able to notch five singles in the final three innings but Booker escaped each of the late threats without giving up a run. Booker's (10-15) second shutout made her NCCU's first 10-game winner in the program's DI era.