HIGH POINT - North Carolina A&T tried to chip away at an early High Point lead, but could not topple the Panthers in an 8-4 loss in baseball action at Williard Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Andre McKoy, Mark Nales and Luke Tendler had two hits apiece with Xavier Macklin adding two RBIs.
The Aggies found themselves in a deep hole after the first inning for the second straight day. But unlike Friday, the Aggies kept the game close. McKoy started the comeback effort with a triple to left field that scored James Harris. Tendler followed with an RBI single up the middle to cut the Panthers lead to 6-3.
The Aggies moved even closer in the fourth. High Point starter Jared Avidon walked the bases loaded with one out. Macklin flied out to center field to score Stefan Jordan on a sacrifice fly. But the Panthers halted the rally from there.
The Panthers added two runs in the fourth as Drew Geissinger singled to left to score Kyle Mahoney who reached earlier on a double. Mike Gragilla gave the Panthers a four-run lead as he scored on a two-base error.
Nick Oelker (2-2), who came into the game as the Aggies' hottest pitcher, took the loss. Only one of the eight runs he surrendered was earned. Reliever Garrett Braun pitched three innings of scoreless relief, but the Aggies left five runners on base over the final four innings.
