DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Freshman Dario Little would not put his game-winning swing on any instructional videos, but he is more than happy with the result.
Little hit the game-tying RBI through the left side in the bottom of the ninth. Senior Lester Rivenbark scored on a throwing error during the same play as the Aggies advanced to the MEAC Baseball Tournament championship game with an 8-7 walk-off win over Norfolk State.
"I was way out in front of his change up,'' said Little about his big hit off of Spartans reliever Jason Barker. "I was just eager to put it in the hole somewhere."
The Aggies (31-25) will face nine-time MEAC Champion Bethune-Cookman Sunday afternoon at 2. ESNPU will televise the game on a tape delayed basis and air it Monday evening at 5.
A&T enters the championship game after doing to Norfolk State what Bethune-Cookman did to it earlier in the day. The Aggies lost a 3-0 lead to the Wildcats in the semifinals, but found themselves down 6-2 to the Spartans.
A 3-run rally in the seventh inning aided by a Little RBI double helped the Aggies move to within one, 6-5. Rogers kept the comeback effort alive with his 15th home run of the season - a solo shot over the left field wall that tied the game at 6. It was Rogers' second homer of the tournament.
Norfolk State did not surrender willfully, however. Aggies reliever Nick Musgrave walked Brandon Hairston on four pitches to open the top of the ninth. Hairston moved into scoring position thanks to a sacrifice bunt. Jonathan Smith, who replaced Musgrave after the walk, got John Lynch to fly out to center for the second out. But Drew Sutmiller's took a Smith 2-1 pitch up the middle for an RBI single and a 7-6 lead.
A&T, who had six of its nine hits come after the sixth inning, kept the pressure on. Alex Grubb opened the home ninth with a single to left field. The Spartans turned to reliever Raymond Morton, but Morton made an error on a sacrifice bunt, allowing Rivenbark to reach first. Mark Nales laid down another sacrifice bunt to move speedy pinch-runner Andre McKoy and Rivenbark into scoring position.
The Spartans fourth pitcher of the game, Barker, intentionally walked George Hines. It set up Little's heroics as he hit a high chopper between third and shortstop. Spartans shortstop Ryan Wiggins got to the ball just as it reached the outfield grass. McKoy scored easily, but Rivenbark turned the corner at third despite where Wiggins fielded the ball. But Wiggins' throw to the plate sailed over the head of catcher Cameron Parsons for the game-winning run.
Little and Grubb had two hits apiece. Nick Oelker (5-5) picked up the win. Morton (0-2) took the loss for the Spartans. Offensively, they were led by Sammy Serafine who was 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
The Aggies and Bethune-Cookman will play for the championship for the third time in the last four seasons with the Wildcats taking all three.
"This was a big win for us,'' said Little. "We have the TV game tomorrow, so we have to keep performing on the big stage."
