GREENSBORO-In rivalry games, anything can happen. Sunday's rubber match between North Carolina A&T and N.C. Central at War Memorial Stadium was no different.
The Aggies rallied from an early deficit, but the Eagles kept a charging A&T team at bay in a 12-9 win.
The Aggies (6-10, 1-2) outhit the Eagles (3-13, 2-1) in the contest, but didn't have the same luck in scoring runs.
"In baseball, you know, anything can happen. Any team can beat anybody on any given day. We can't take anybody lightly. Hopefully it's a wake-up call for us. We aren't going to walk through the conference, that's for sure," Aggies coach Sanchez said. "We've got to go out and take it one game at a time, and make sure that we're focused with the team that's on the field and not looking forward to anything. We've got our work cut out."
The Eagles took command of the game by scoring seven runs in the seventh. After allowing the first two batters to reach base, Moore was replaced by Mackey on the mound. Dylan Drayton then hit a bunt single to load the bases. Anthony Wilson reached on an error by shortstop Luke Tendler, which allowed one run to score. Luis Diaz hit an RBI single to make it a 7-5 game. Another RBI single and an A&T error allowed two more runs to score. A two-run RBI single by Etienne Farquharson made it an 11-5 game.
Williamson scored the final NCCU run as Drayton collected a bases-loaded walk. The Eagles ended the seventh inning with seven runs on seven hits and two errors.
The Aggies fought back and scored two more in the bottom of the seventh to make it a 12-7 game on an RBI double by right fielder Dairio Little and an RBI single by Tendler. A&T scored their final two runs in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double by Radford and an RBI single by Riley.
Junior right-hander Andrew Cook retired the Eagles in order in the ninth inning to help keep A&T within striking distance. In the bottom of the ninth, the Aggies got one runner on as Tendler singled, but the final batter flew out to end the game.
A&T junior southpaw Brent Moore allowed seven runs (two earned) on five hits with three strikeouts in 6.0 innings, picking up the loss. Freshman reliever Joe Mackey allowed five unearned runs on five hits in one inning of work. Cook tossed two shutout frames to close out the game for the Aggies.
Little finished the game 3-for-5 with a team-high three RBI in the contest. Four A&T batters had multi-hit games and three had multi-RBI games to help keep the Aggies competitive. Tendler finished the game 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to eight games.
The two teams were held scoreless by early stingy pitching by starters Moore and Eagles Jacob Russell. The Eagles were the first to strike, scoring five runs in the third, all with two outs. Shortstop Dylan Drayton hit a bunt single to start the rally. Moore Wilson to put two on for Diaz. Diaz reached on an error by Tendler. With the bases loaded, Moore hit Troy Marrow to bring in a run. Right fielder Ross Plummer hit a double to center field which brought home two runs to make it a 3-0 game. Marrow scored on a wild pitch while catcher Carter Williamson was batting. Willamson singled to bring home Plummer and give the Eagles a 5-0 lead.
"We should have been out of both innings with less damage, but we fought again until the end," said Sanchez about the Eagles two big innings in the third and the seventh. "We made our charges. We had a couple of innings where our offense we put some better at-bats together."
The Aggies put together their own big inning in the bottom of the fifth. Designated hitter Lee Taylor got things started with a single to right field. He advanced to second as left fielder Andre McKoy was walked by Russell. Centerfielder Carvell Copeland then reached on an error by Russell, who misplayed Copeland's bunt. With the bases loaded and one out, Russell walked third baseman Michael Radford, which allowed the Aggies to score their first run.
The Eagles then replaced Russell with Ruben Rios on the mound. Riley stepped up to the plate and hit an RBI single to right field to make it a 5-2 game. Little slammed a single to score to another pair of runs and to bring A&T within one run of N.C. Central.
The Aggies will look to get back to their winning ways in two upcoming home mid-week games. A&T will host High Point on Tuesday at 3 p.m., and Elon on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
