BLACKSBURG, Va. – The North Carolina A&T baseball team scheduled a game with the ACC's Virginia Tech Hokies recently and nearly pitched their way to an upset. The Hokies held off the Aggies for a 3-0 win Wednesday night at English Field.
The Aggies (8-34) put together plenty of offense but left 10 men on base. Seniors Brandon Wilkerson, Micah Carmony and Brandon Mitchell had two hits apiece. All 10 of the Aggies hits were singles, however.
Down by one run, the Aggies had their best scoring opportunity in the fifth. With one out, Mitchell singled through the left side, which was followed by another single to left field by sophomore Kyle Clary. The bases were loaded when freshman Myles Sowell reached on an error. But Virginia Tech starter Joey Sullivan (RHP) struck out Wilkerson and freshman Milton Rivera to get out of the jam.
The Aggies had another opportunity to score in the sixth. Freshman Adan Ordonez and Carmony opened the inning with singles. Freshman A.J. Hunt flew out to right field and sophomore Timothy Ravare replaced to replace Carmony on the base paths. With two on and two out, however, Clary struck out to end the threat. A&T put two runners in scoring position in the seventh, but still was not able to bring home a run.
The Hokies (22-24) meanwhile put a run on the board in the first inning thanks to an RBI sacrifice fly by Brendon Hayden. A&T starter B Smith (RHP) did not give up another run over his four-inning outing. He was replaced in the fifth by left-hander Danny Garrett. Garrett retired the first two batters he faced before giving up a single Mac Caples. Kyle Wernicki made matters worse when he reached on an infield single. Garrett then hit Alex Perez with a 1-1 pitch to load the bases.
Hayden earned an RBI when he was walked on a five pitches to force in a run to give the Hokies a 2-0 advantage. Another infield hit, this time by Erik Payne, scored Wernicki for the three-run advantage. Aaron McGarity came on in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season. Sullivan (1-3) got the win while Smith (2-3) took the loss.
The Aggies will host the Rattlers for a three-game at War Memorial Stadium starting on Saturday at 5 p.m. The two teams will conclude the series Sunday in a noon doubleheader.
