CARY, N.C. — On her Senior Day, first baseman Joirea Dumas came up with a walk-off single in bottom of the 10th inning to lift the North Carolina Central University softball team to a 6-5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) victory over rival North Carolina A&T State University in the three-game series finale at Thomas Brooks Park Sunday evening.
 
N.C. A&T won the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, 4-0, to tie the series before the Eagles picked up their second walk-off win in as many days over the Aggies. Senior K'Lea Parks provided the two-run, walk-off hit on Saturday.
 
NCCU honored its 11 seniors from the past two seasons after the first game. The Eagles then survived the rubber game in 10 innings for its third straight series victory over the Aggies. The Dumas two-run single also gave the eight active seniors a win in their final home game.
 
NC Central (7-29 Overall, 5-7 MEAC) will conclude its regular season with a four-game MEAC Southern Division road series at South Carolina State University on Saturday-Sunday, May 1-2.
 
GAME ONE: N.C. A&T 4, NC Central 0
 
Freshman starting pitcher S'Nyiah Stinson took a perfect game into the fifth inning in leading the Aggies to a shutout victory. Stinson (5-10) issued a four-pitch walk to Parks with one out in the fifth to end the perfect game and then she had her no-hit bid also come to an end just two batters later on an infield single by freshman Imara Harrell.  She only allowed those two base runners in her five innings of victorious work.
 
Sophomore Kayla Douglas tossed the final two innings of relief to preserve the clean sheet, allowing just one other hit to the Eagles, which came off the bat of Parks.
 
N.C. A&T scored three of its four runs in the third inning, including a two-run double by freshman Kendall Macauley. The Aggies finished with a 6-2 hit advantage and junior Eternal Fuller scored twice for the victors.
 
GAME TWO: NC Central 6, N.C. A&T 5 (10 Innings)
 
Dumas ripped her hard single up the middle with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 10th, plating a couple more seniors in Tamiera Sanchez and Nadia Blevins for the game-tying and game winning runs.
 
The Eagles trailed 4-0 early, before rallying to tie the game and force extra innings. Dumas started NCCU's comeback bid with an RBI-single in third as she drove in three runs in the contest to increase her team-best RBI total to 19.
 
NCCU leveled the score with three runs in the fourth. Harrell launched a two-run homer to left field for her first collegiate home run. Sanchez followed with a double down the left line and she eventually scored on an error to level the score. Sanchez finished with two hits and two runs scored.
 
Senior pitcher Kiara Hurley had a masterful relief appearance to give the Eagles a chance to complete the comeback. Hurley (4-16) did not allow an earned run in her 6 1/3 innings of relief to earn the win. She struck out four Aggies, including one big strikeout to end the seventh inning with the bases loaded.
 
N.C. A&T (10-26, 10-6) was able to score the international tiebreaker runner in the top of the 10th to regain the lead momentarily. Four different Aggie batters had two hits apiece, including freshman Kiara Richards, who had a two-run single in the first, but the visitors left 10 runners on base.
 
Sanchez was placed on second base to start the home half of the 10th and she moved over to third on a perfectly placed bunt single by Blevins, who then promptly stole second base. Freshman Hailey Batista then drew a walk in a 10-pitch plate appearance to load the bases for NCCU's top slugger. The Eagle fans thought Dumas had won the game on a near grand slam down the left field line, but the ball was called just foul. However, Dumas took advantage of her next opportunity a couple pitches later with her well-placed single that allowed Sanchez and Blevins to both score standing up.