BOONE, N.C.- After a
huge win against the reigning MEAC champion Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, the
North Carolina A&T baseball team stumbled on Tuesday at Beaver Field at Jim
and Bettie Smith Stadium against the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
The Aggies (7-16) totaled five hits in a 14-0 loss to the
Mountaineers (19-5), and left seven stranded on base in the contest. The Aggies were led offensively by first
baseman Kelvin Freeman, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles in the second
and final meeting of the season between the two teams. The last time the Aggies
were shutout was on March 8, 2011 against Pittsburgh in a 12-0 loss at War
Memorial Stadium. It was their lone
shutout of the 2011 campaign.
"We were just not ready to play today. We came out flat. That's the bottom line-we weren't ready to
play," said A&T head coach Joel Sanchez, adding that the team's lack of
energy was not due to any residual tiredness following the 10-hour road trip back
from Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sunday evening.
"There's no excuses."
The Mountaineers jumped out quickly to an 8-0 lead in the
bottom of the first, as they brought 11 batters to the plate and tallied six
hits off A&T starter southpaw Ruben Torrellas.
The Aggies worked to set up a rally in the top of the
fourth, getting runners on first and second with one out before ASU starter
Jamie Nunn, who picked up the win, retired the next two batters.
A&T made another push to end the shutout in the seventh.
A&T right fielder Dairio Little got on base with a leadoff walk off ASU
reliever Jordan Jessup. He moved to
third on a pair of Aggie groundouts, but was stranded as freshman Brandon
Wilkerson flied out to centerfield. The
Aggies also left a runner on second base in the eighth inning.
Torrellas allowed nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits
with four walks in 3.0 innings for his third loss on the year. Reliever Shane Carter allowed five runs (four
earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts while matching a season-high with
5.0 innings pitched. It was the most
number of runs the Aggies have allowed this season and the third time they have
given up 15 hits to an opponent.
The Aggies will look to bounce back into the win column as
they take on the UNC Greensboro Spartans on Wednesday at NewBridge Bank
Ballpark in downtown Greensboro at 6 p.m.
Students get into Wednesday's game for free with a valid
student ID. Tickets for kids ages 5-12
are $3 and all adult tickets are $5 for general admission to the game. Fans can park in the Edgeworth parking lot
behind the stadium and can enter the game through the main gate only.
