GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T did not get the offensive production it was looking for to jump start the 2015 season. Navy used some timely hitting on the flip side to earn an 8-1 win over the Aggies during Opening Day Friday afternoon at Historic War Memorial Stadium.
A&T registered just two hits off Midshipman pitching with Navy starter Luke Gillingham being the biggest annoyance for A&T. Gillingham struck out 16 of the 22 Aggies he faced while giving up just one hit over seven innings. Aggies starter Charles Cantrell lasted four innings and gave up six runs (all earned), five walks and struck out three.
Navy's big blow came in the fourth inning. After Ben McGarth and Sean Trent put together back-to-back one-out singles, Connor Deneen lifted a three-run homer to center field to give the Midshipmen a 6-0 lead. Cantrell did recover to strikeout the next two batters before exiting the game for freshman Jerry Liang.
Liang showed promise in his debut. He gave up two runs over four innings but struck out seven of the 21batters he faced. Micah Carmony scored the Aggies only run with his second career home run, a two-out blast to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning to avoid the shutout.
Deneen led the Midshipmen by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI. Adrian Chinney added two RBI. The two teams will close the series on Saturday with a 1 p.m. Doubleheader at WMS.
