TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The North Carolina A&T baseball team ran into problems after the seventh-inning stretch as Florida A&M swept the Aggies with an 8-3 win Sunday afternoon at Moore-Kittles Field.
The Rattlers (11-15, 7-5 MEAC) earned the sweep after taking both doubleheader games on Saturday. The Aggies (3-21, 1-10 MEAC) did hold the lead until the fifth inning.
Trailing 3-2, the Rattlers put runners on first and third with no outs thanks in part to two walks. The Aggies then turned freshman left-hander Evan Miranda. The Rattlers countered by pinch-hitting right-hand bat Robby Jolley for left-hander Brian Davis. Jolley laid down a sacrifice bunt that allowed Marlon Gibbs to score from third to tie the game. After giving up two more walks to load the bases, Miranda got out of the inning by getting Logan Seymour to ground out to the mound.
The Aggies got out of the sixth inning without giving up any runs but were not as fortunate in the seventh inning. Joshua Thompson (RHP) opened the seventh by walking Jeremy Barlow. Peter Jackson then doubled to put runners at second and third for Seymour. Barlow scored when Seymour reached on an Aggies error as FAMU took the lead 4-3. After Jason Gifford (RHP) came on and gave up a walk to load the bases, Jerry Liang (RHP) surrendered an RBI single to A.J. Elkins to give the Rattlers a two-run lead.
FAMU scored three more runs in the inning on a wild pitch, an RBI sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Ryan Kennedy to take an 8-3 lead. The Aggies put a runner on in the eighth inning but Adan Ordonez was caught trying to steal second. A&T was retired in order in the ninth to end the game. Reliever Kendal Weeks (LHP) picked up the win to improve to 3-2. Thompson took the loss (0-1) for A&T.
Senior Brandon Wilkerson and junior Ryan Jantsch both drove in runs for A&T. Wilkerson opened the fourth inning by singling up the middle and would later move to second on a wild pitch. Erik Montero reached on an error which allowed Wilkerson to score to tie the game at 2. Ordonez being hit by a pitch put runners on first and second for the Aggies. Jantsch then came through with his RBI to right field to score Montero for the 3-2 lead even though Jantsch was thrown out on the play.
A&T will hope to turn things around with a series of home games next week. The Aggies host Gardner-Webb at War Memorial Stadium at 6 p.m., Tuesday. The following day Appalachian State comes to WMS to face the Aggies a 6 p.m. The week closes at home with the Aggies facing arch-rival N.C. Central in a three-game series at WMS starting on Friday with a 1 p.m., doubleheader and concluding Saturday with a 1 p.m., first pitch.
