GREENSBORO-The North Carolina A&T baseball team found some of the high energy they were missing on Tuesday, starting off strong Wednesday against UNC Greensboro. But the Aggies (7-17) struggled with finding timely hits late as they stranded 11 baserunners in a 7-4 loss to the Spartans (14-10) at NewBridge Bank Park.
"We came out flat yesterday," said A&T head coach Joel Sanchez. "Today we had the right idea. We chewed them out yesterday in the clubhouse a little bit. All in all, the environment-you get up for it, you get up for UNCG with the crosstown rivalry I guess you could call it. We just came out ready to play today."
The Aggies showed their maturity by shaking off yesterday's 14-0 loss by collecting four runs off four hits in the second inning. With one out, catcher Stefan Jordan was hit by a pitch. He moved to second on a single by freshman Brandon Wilkerson. Centerfielder Carvell Copeland then hit into a fielder's choice which put out Wilkerson at second. Shortstop Michael Radford singled up the middle to score Jordan from third. With runners on first and second with two out, left fielder Andre McKoy singled through the right side to bring home Copeland and make it a 2-0 game.
Senior Marquis Riley stepped up to the plate and on a full count, knocked the ball past UNCG shortstop TJ Spina into center field to score a pair of runs to put the Aggies ahead 4-0.
"It was a good game, we had good energy. Our guys came out swinging the bats well, and had a good approach," Sanchez said.
The Spartans answered as Troelstrup hit a leadoff solo shot over the left field wall to make it a 4-1 contest in the bottom of the second. The Spartans made it a 4-2 game in the bottom of the fourth after an RBI single by Spina.
UNCG took its first lead of the game in the fifth. Designated hitter Trevor Edwards attempted to reach third on a wild pitch, after doubling to right field. A&T catcher Stefan Jordan overthrew the ball to third baseman Luke Tendler, and Edwards scored on the errant throw. Later, a two-RBI double by Nick Chapman gave the Spartans a 5-4 lead.
The Aggies worked to rally, leaving two runners on base in each of the fifth and sixth innings. "We're getting guys on base; we're getting them to second base. We just can't get them around. We had trouble getting that one timely hit," Sanchez said.
Junior transfer right-hander Andrew Cook made his first A&T start and ninth appearance of the year on Wednesday. Cook (0-3) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Riley finished the game with a team-best three hits and two RBI, while McKoy and freshman Wilkerson each added a pair of hits to the A&T total.
"It was another good effort against another good quality baseball team," Sanchez said. "You've got to be on your game when you face good people. It's always nice playing in these minor league fields, and it doesn't look like a Single A, Low A minor league baseball field."
The Aggies continue their road trip with a three-game series in Savannah Ga., taking on the Savannah State Tigers. The two teams will play a twinbill on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m., and will play the series finale at 1 p.m., on Sunday.
"I know it's going to be another tough battle. Nobody's really showing any dominance in this conference, so we've got to be ready to play," said Sanchez. "Savannah State's another good team, scrappy team, that's going to compete. They're another team that you've got to go out and play your baseball game. They come ready to play. Their head coach prepares those guys well. I think we'll be ready. We've got to carry this type of momentum in to the weekend. I know it was a loss, but it was a moral victory because we played hard, we played good with some good energy."
