GREENSBORO-The North Carolina A&T baseball team got the winning run on base in the bottom of the ninth, but was not able to complete the come-from-behind win on Sunday against Florida A&M at War Memorial Stadium in a 7-5 loss, ending their winning streak at five.
The Aggies (12-19, 6-6 MEAC) had a slow start on Sunday, and did not collect their first hit until the fifth inning. But once the A&T offense woke up, it started to put pressure on the Rattlers (6-30, 4-8 MEAC).
"We came out flat. We weren't ready to play. We knew they were going to come out and try to salvage the weekend and they did. We got outplayed today. We sat back waiting too long. Finally we got into a fight in the end, but it was a little late. We just came out flat," said A&T head coach Joel Sanchez.
"We thought we were going to sweep them that easy," he added. "Nobody's really taken control of the conference, so it's up for grabs, in my opinion. We've got to continue grinding. We've got to continue battling and showing up for every game."
A&T starter Brent Moore allowed four earned runs in 5.0 innings. Freshman reliever Joe Mackey allowed two runs on three hits in 4.0 innings.
The Rattlers took a 3-0 lead in the first inning off Moore. After the rough first inning, Moore settled down and helped strand six FAMU runners in the next three innings. FAMU added another pair of runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-0 lead.
"[Moore] was up in the zone early. He could have packed it in early but he didn't. He still gave us five innings and gave us a chance to win the game," Sanchez said. "We just sat back too long and waited too long. Tip your hat to their pitcher [Blackburn]. He was mixing it up and kept us off balance."
FAMU starter Heath Blackburn, who picked up his second win on Sunday, gave up his first hit in the fifth inning. A&T third baseman Luke Tendler started the inning with a double to center field. He took third as catcher Stefan Jordan singled. An RBI single by freshman designated hitter Brandon Wilkerson brought home Tendler and snapped the shutout to make it a 5-1 game.
FAMU scored two more runs in the eighth inning off Mackey to make it a 7-1 contest. With two out, Jarryd Reid singled to left field. Cory Franklin then hit a single to deep in the hole at shortstop. Both runners scored on a two-run RBI double by West. Mackey got Michael Birdsong to fly out to get out of the jam.
The Aggies answered back by scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth. Shortstop Radford walked to start the inning. He advanced to second as left fielder Andre McKoy grounded out to third. After Dairio Little popped up to second, second baseman Marquis Riley singled to right field to bring home Radford. First baseman Kelvin Freeman then singled to put two runners on with two out for Tendler. Tendler slammed a two-run RBI triple to right field to make it a 7-4 game.
After Mackey retired the Rattlers in order in the ninth, the Aggies worked to complete the comeback. Centerfielder Carvell Copeland took first after being hit by a pitch to start the inning. Radford next walked to put two on. Little hit an RBI single to left field to bring home Copeland and bring the Aggies to within two. Riley was then hit with a pitch, to load the bases with one out. Freeman struck out swinging, and Tendler flied out to centerfield to end the game and rally.
The Aggies will hit the diamond on Tuesday, traveling to Buies Creek, N.C. to take on Campbell at 6 p.m. On Wednesday, A&T will take on Radford in Radford, Va. at 6 p.m. Next weekend, the Aggies will take on N.C. Central on the road. Sanchez said that the team will use this loss to remind them to stay focused and competitive for their next five games.
"It's a wakeup call that we've got to show up every day. We can't get complacent, that's for sure. We've got to show up every day," he said.
