GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T faced one of the best pitchers in the MEAC Saturday night and hit him pretty well. The Aggies just didn't hit him well when they had runners in scoring position.
Bethune-Cookman's Keith Zuniga, who was drafted in the MLB Draft in 2014 before returning to school, shutout the Aggies over eight innings pitched and struck out seven in a 3-0 win over A&T in MEAC baseball action at War Memorial Stadium.
Despite Zuniga's performance, the Aggies got eight hits off of him. But the Aggies hit into three double plays and left eight men on base. The Aggies fell to 2-10 overall and 0-3 in the MEAC.
“Two-out hitting, big-situation runners in scoring-position hitting, we're just not getting the job done,” said interim head coach Ben Hall. “We got a lot of guys on base, we had opportunities, but it boils down to being able to hit when big situations come up.”
Trailing by three runs late in the game, the Aggies had two great scoring opportunities in the eighth and ninth innings. With runners on first and second with one out, sophomore Kyle Clary singled through the left side to load the bases and put the go-ahead run at the plate in Ryan Jantsch.
But Jantsch hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Bethune-Cookman brought on right-hand reliever Clint Clymer to close out the Aggies, but senior Brandon Wilkerson singled with one out. Freshman Adan Ordonez then reached on an error to put runners and first and second as AJ Hunt represented the tying run at the plate for A&T.
But Hunt flied out to center fielder and freshman Milton Rivera struck out to secure the win for the Wildcats (4-15, 4-3 MEAC). Clymer claimed his first save of the season, while Zuniga improved to 2-2.
A&T got a quality start from Mitchell McQueen. After a 28-pitch first inning, he settled in and pitched six strong innings for the Aggies. McQueen (0-2) gave up five hits, three runs (two earned) and struck out two.
“Mitch was great today,” said Hall. “I expect that to get better. His previous outing was better. His velocity has jumped a little bit. He has made a couple of adjustments on the mound the last two weeks. That's the kind of outing you expect from him.”
B-CU's only run until the sixth inning came on a throwing error. After McQueen walked Clay Middleton to load the bases, Jordan Robinson two-run RBI single through the right side gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
“We got the hits tonight, but we didn't get hits in the scenarios where needed them the most,” said Hall.
The Aggies also had a chance at a big inning in the fifth when they put together two hits and the Wildcats committed an error and walked a batter. But two bases running mistakes – a pickoff at first bases and a pickoff at third bases – ended the threat.
The Aggies were led by Wilkerson who was 3-for-4. Myles Sowell and Kyle Clary had two hits apiece. The Aggies and the Wildcats will complete their three-game series Sunday afternoon in a noon doubleheader at War Memorial.
