GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T was left looking for answers after losing both games of a doubleheader to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Bethune-Cookman, Sunday, 7-4 and 16-5 at War Memorial Stadium. The Aggies were swept by the Wildcats after losing 3-0 on Saturday.
The Aggies were playing the unusual doubleheader on a Sunday because inclement weather forced the Aggies to only play one game on Saturday – the normal designated day for conference doubleheader. A&T and Bethune-Cookman played the seven-inning game first on Sunday before playing a nine-inning affair.
Myles Sowell led the Aggies in Game 1 by going 3-for-3 and scoring a run.
A&T (2-12, 0-5 MEAC) looked poised to claim their first conference win in Sunday's first game. Senior Brandon Wilkerson gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single through the left side, scoring Sowell who reached on a single.
Bo McMillan's two-out double quickly made the A&T lead three as he doubled to left field. Wilkerson motored home from first as the throw home was too late. But B-CU catcher Clay Middleton compounded the Wildcats problems by trying to throw out McMillan going to third. His throw sailed wide of the bag, allowing McMillan's double to turn into a run all on the same play.
Aggies freshman starter Jerry Liang had things going in his direction until A&T's defense unraveled in the third inning. Back-to-back errors allowed the Wildcats to score their first run. Designated hitter Jose Carballo then made it a 3-2 game with an RBI single to left field.
B-CU (6-15, 6-3 MEAC) scored three more runs in the fourth inning as Brandon Wilkes led off the inning with a double off Liang. Demetrius Sims moved him to third on a groundout and Jameel Edney's single scored him after Bryant Munoz reached on a fielder's choice. As A&T center fielder Bo McMillan tried to throw out Munoz at third, his throw got away from third baseman Kyle Clary allowing Munoz to score to give B-CU a 4-3 lead.
After right-hander B Smith replaced Liang on the mound, Smith got to hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Edney as the Wildcats took a 5-3 lead. Clary's RBI sac fly in the fifth inning closed the gap to one run but a Nathan Bond homer in the sixth and an Edney sac fly in the seventh helped the Wildcats to increase their lead to three runs.
A&T was able to put the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh as B-CU right-hand reliever put the first two runners on with a hit by pitch and a base on balls. Wildcats right-hand close Clint Clymer put an end to the Aggies rally when he entered for Austin by getting Wilkerson to hit into a double play and Ryan Janstch to line out to end the game.
Wildcats starter Alex Siebold (2-1) got the win while Liang (0-2) took the loss. His defense didn't help him or the other Aggie pitchers as four of the Wildcats' seven runs were unearned.
If the pitching could hold up in Game 2 and the Aggies defense improved, the Aggies figured they were poised to win. But the Aggies ran into a B-CU offensive onslaught as the Wildcats jumped out to a 13-0 lead over the first innings and pounded out 19 hits.
Wilkerson led A&T in Game 2 with a 2-for-4 performance that included two RBI and a run scored. The weekend was not a complete loss for A&T. They did find some answers in terms of the lineup. Sowell went 5-for-8 in the series while Wilkerson was 6-for-11 with two runs scored.
The Aggies return to action Tuesday when they travel to High Point to face the High Point Panthers at 6 p.m. They come home to play Longwood Wednesday at 8 p.m., before starting a three-game series against Savannah State on Saturday.
