N.C. Central Senior Salute: Softball

Courtesy of North Carolina Central Athletic Communications

DURHAM, N.C. — The North Carolina Central softball team had its 2020 spring season cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the NCCU athletics department would like recognize its three seniors for their athletic achievements by highlighting their Eagle careers at this time in lieu of a traditional Senior Day experience.

NCCU is honoring its three seniors at this time as the 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Championship was originally scheduled for this week.

This trio of seniors were all members of NCCU’s two most successful seasons in the program’s NCAA Division I era in 2018 and 2019, which included setting new records in overall wins, league wins and postseason wins. They also combined for a 3.3 group grade point average at N.C. Central.

Senior middle infielder Jacobia Johnson will be graduating early after playing three seasons with the Eagles. She has started in 105 games over that span and has a .279 career batting average. Johnson has accumulated 77 hits, 47 runs, 15 RBI, one double and 17 stolen bases over the past three season. She was named the NCCU softball Debra Saunders-White Leadership Award winner in 2020 after garnering Preseason All-MEAC Second Team accolades to start the campaign. Johnson also received the NCCU Eagle Excellence Academic Award in 2019 and is a MEAC All-Academic Team honoree.

The resident of Jacksonville, Fla., is a business major with a concentration in information communications and technology. Johnson plans to obtain a software engineer or web development position and pursue a Masters in Computer Science after NCCU. She was inducted into Gamma Beta Sigma in the spring of 2020 and is a NCCU Chancellor’s Soaring Eagles Scholar and North Carolina Governor’s HBCU Scholar. Her favorite moment with the Eagles was beating nationally-ranked UNC Chapel Hill in 2019.

Senior catcher/third baseman Dalika Wallace is the lone four-year letter winner graduating from the NCCU softball team this season. She has played in 145 games for the maroon and gray, including 140 starts, and has a career .242 batting average. Wallace has amassed 74 hits, 56 runs, 55 RBI, 17 doubles, two triples and 11 home runs with a career .366 on-base percentage and .418 slugging percentage. Wallace was named the NCCU Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2018-19 after a tremendous junior season in which she was the team MVP, team Players’ Choice award winner, First Team All-MEAC, NCCSIA All-State and two-time MEAC Player of the Week. That season, Wallace batted .317 and led the MEAC with eight home runs and 38 RBI. In addition to her athletic accomplishments, Wallace has also earned MEAC All-Academic Team laurels.

The Newport News, Va., resident is a business administration major at NCCU with a concentration in finance. Wallace has started the search process for a job and looks forward to diving into the workforce after graduation. Her favorite moments at NC Central include Homecoming week and trips to Florida for the MEAC Softball Championships.

Senior outfielder Tehillah Duffy played her final two seasons with the Eagles. She played in 43 games over that time, including pinch running numerous times, and finished with three hits, 12 runs scored and four stolen bases. Duffy, who played one season at Simpson University and then attended Ohlone College before transferring to NCCU, made six starts for the Eagles. She is a MEAC All-Academic Team honoree and Honor Roll student at NC Central.

The Livermore, Calif., native is a behavioral and social science major at NCCU. Duffy next plans to apply to nursing school on the west coast to pursue her ultimate career goal of becoming a neonatal nurse. Duffy’s favorite moment at NCCU was losing her voice from all the screaming and excitement from their win against UNC. She said the excitement and energy around defeating a nationally-ranked team was electric and they felt on top of the world. Duffy regards it as the greatest moment she has been a part of in her life.