GREENSBORO – The dreaded big inning did in the North Carolina A&T baseball team again. The N.C. Central Eagles used 22 hits and several big innings to win Game 1 of a Friday doubleheader at War Memorial Stadium, 18-10. In the second game it was a five-run sixth in a scheduled seven-inning contests that catapulted the Eagles to a 6-4 win.
The Aggies (3-25, 1-12 MEAC) once again did not go without showcasing their offensive prowess. A&T had five players – led by senior Bo McMillan's 3-for-4, two RBI performance – to have multiple-hit games in Game 1. In Game 2, freshman A.J. Hunt was 3-for-3 with two RBI and senior Dylan Hipp and freshman Adan Ordonez had two hits apiece. Like many of their games this season, however, the Aggies found it difficult to outslug their opponent.
The Eagles (14-16, 8-5 MEAC) had seven extra base hits including four doubles in the first game, and they hit two home runs in the second contest.
“It all starts on the mound because you want to keep runs off the board especially after you've taken a lead,” said interim head coach Ben Hall. “If you give up crooked numbers it's tough to win. The baseball gods don't like it. It all starts with being able to limit opportunities, and the first opportunity you have to limit people is on the mound.”
A&T did get a strong outing from senior right-hander Brian Poag in Game 2. He was in command over the first five innings, mixing up his pitches and befuddling Eagle batters with a strong breaking ball when he got ahead in the count. He threw only 54 pitches over the first five innings but ran into trouble in the sixth. With the Aggies leading 2-1, Poag gave up a leadoff single to Devin Sweet, walked Trevor Theissen and surrendered a two-run RBI double to Mitchell McCrary to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead.
Carlos Ortiz ended Poag's afternoon when he followed McCrary's double with an RBI double of his own to make it 4-2. “I thought Brian pitched his tail off,” said Hall. “He was just a little more gassed in that sixth inning than we thought. If I had to do it over again, we probably go with (Mitchell McQueen) a little earlier.”
McQeen (RHP) did enter the game in the sixth with one out and a runner on second. Ronald Thompson greeted him with a two-run homer to right center field for a 6-2 advantage. McQueen settled in and retired the last five batters he faced in Game 2. It gave the Aggies a chance to put together a rally. Hipp got a one-out hit up the middle off Eagles reliever Andrew Vernon (RHP). He moved to second on a bad pickoff throw from Vernon. Hunt then doubled to center to score Hipp and Timothy Ravare recorded an RBI single to cut the Eagles lead to 6-4.
In the seventh, Ordonez hit a two-out single through the left side and moved all the way to third on two Vernon wild pitches. Vernon then fell behind Clary 3-1 before getting two straight called strikes on the inside corner to end the game. Vernon picked up his fourth save of the season and starter Alex Dandridge (RHP) improved to 4-0. Poag (0-4) took the loss.
Game 1 was not as serene as the second game. The two teams combined to score 28 runs, record 37 hits and commit nine errors. The Aggies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to shaky NCCU defense and timely A&T hitting. With runners at second and third with two outs, NCCU first baseman Christian Triplett fumbled a Hipp groundball, allowing Hipp to beat him to the bag and Milton Rivera to score. Hunt followed by hitting a groundball to third, but NCCU second baseman Cory Williamson dropped the throw from Eric Kimber, allowing Clary to score. Ravare made it 3-0 on an RBI single to right.
The Eagles responded by scoring an unthinkable 14 unanswered runs over the next five innings. A&T tried to rally as a two-run homer from Rivera and a two-run double by Hipp cut the Eagles lead to 14-7. The Aggies put up two more runs in the seventh thanks to a sacrifice fly from McMillan and a solo home run by Brandon Wilkerson. But the Eagles pulled away with another big inning, a four-run eighth, to seal the win.
“The numbers are the numbers,” said Hall who has seen his team score 33 runs in four games this week but go 0-4. “You can't dismiss them. When you're giving up seven, eight runs a game, it's tough to win. I give our hitters a ton of credit. They came out and hit all week and did exactly what we asked them to do in the box. You can't ask much more of them. We've got to find a way to miss more barrels, find more outs and limit those high-intensity innings by not putting so many guys on base.”
The Aggies and the Eagles conclude their series Saturday afternoon at 1 at WMS. The Aggies will be trying to snap an eight-game losing streak to their arch-rivals.
