GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T baseball team picked up its first win of the season in wacky 10-9 extra-inning triumph over Navy Saturday evening at War Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen took two out of three from the Aggies after winning the first game of the doubleheader, 11-6.
Brandon Mitchell hit the walk-off winner in the bottom of the ninth of Game 2 to secure the win.
Mitchell went 3-for-5 on the day with the game-winning RBI. Freshman Adan Ordonez went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. B Smith picked up the win on the mound.
It didn't appear Mitchell's heroics would be necessary A&T took control of the game in the fifth inning thanks to a two-out rally. AJ Hunt started the surge with a double to left-center field. Brandon Wilkerson followed with a walk, setting up Ordonez two-run RBI triple to give the Aggies a 6-4 lead.
Senior Bo McMillan then followed with a two-run home run over the left field wall to increase the Aggies lead to 8-4. It was McMillan's first career home run. The Aggies added a run in the sixth to take a 5-run lead.
A&T turned to left-handed reliever Dylan Hipp to close out the game in the seven-inning second game. But the Midshipmen made another push toward the lead as they scored five runs in the visitor's seventh. A&T put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, but were unable to get him home as the game went into extra innings.
Smith was excellent on the mound in extra innings. Smith pitched 2.2 innings and did not give up a run or a hit in that span. He also struck out two and walked one over the nine batters he faced.
The Aggis finally broke through in the ninth as Smith opened the inning by earning a walk. Smith moved to second on a balk, setting up Mitchell's big hit that drove him home and ended the game. Navy's Kyle Condry took the loss for Navy (2-1).
Sean Trent led the Midshipmen offensively by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI. Trent also had a big game in Game 1. He went 3-for-5 with three runs scored in the Navy win.
A&T trailed 7-1 in the first game before making a ballgame of it. The Aggies scored two in the fifth inning and then edged even closer in the sixth inning. A two-base error by Navy allowed A.J. Hunt to score to make it 7-4. Brandon Wilkerson then grounded out to second to drive in another run. A Mitchell groundout moved the Aggies to within one at 7-6 as Ordonez scored.
Navy responded in the seventh as a two-run RBI double Leland Saile and a two-run RBI single by Jack Keller put the game away for the Midshipmen. Stephen Moore (1-0) earned the win while Sam Sorenson got the save. Senior Mitchell McQueen (0-1) was the losing pitcher after going 4.1 innings and striking out three.
Wilkerson and Mitchell and had two hits apiece and Mitchell and Micah Carmony drove in two runs apiece. The Aggies are scheduled to play again 3 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 17 at War Memorial Stadium.
