DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 26, 2016) – North Carolina A&T and Bethune-Cookman had a slugfest in the first game of their doubleheader on Saturday in which the Aggies prevailed 14-10 in seven innings at Jackie Robinson Park. In a much calmer second game, the Wildcats took the three-game series two games to one with a 4-2 win over the Aggies.
N.C. A&T is now 6-19 overall and 2-4 in the MEAC. Three different Aggies had three hits in the first game including sophomores Myles Sowell and Adan Ordonez and senior Ryan Jantsch. Jantsch also added three RBI. Sophomore Milton Rivera, junior Timothy Ravare and freshman Dawnoven Smith had two hits apiece and junior Kyle Clary had five RBI including a first-inning grand slam.
The two teams combined for 13 runs over the first three innings as the Wildcats held an 8-5 lead. N.C. A&T took the lead for good in the fourth as they posted six runs. Rivera started the scoring by singling through the left side to score Smith from second. Ordonez then singled home Rivera and Sowell to tie the game at 8. Left-hander Joseph Calamita replaced right-hand starter Tyler Norris after Ordonez's single.
But the Aggies kept hitting. Jantsch, one of the best power hitters in the conference, reached on a bunt single to put runners on first and second. Ravare loaded the bases with a single before Calamita hit Keenan Herring with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run. Clary's sacrifice fly to left scored Jantsch for a 10-8 Aggies lead. Smith closed out the scoring with an RBI single to give the Aggies an 11-8 lead.
N.C. A&T added another run in the fifth on an RBI double by Jantsch. The Wildcats tried to rally in their sixth as Jameel Edney walked off right-hand reliever B Smith. Smith was replaced by LHP Matt Stanley. Michael Cruz welcomed with a single, but Danny Rodriguez hit into a double play that eliminated Edney and Cruz from the base paths. But Nate Sterijevski kept the rally going with a single up the middle and Nathan Bond brought Rodriguez and Sterijevski home with a double to put BCU within two at 12-10.
Again, Jantsch gave the Aggies some breathing room as he hit a two-run RBI double in the seventh. Stanley then retired the Wildcats in order in the seventh to his first career save as an Aggie. Smith (1-2) earned the win for N.C. A&T while Norris (3-1) took the loss.
Aggies starter Kaeson Wilson (RHP) and Wildcats starter Alex Seibold had a little easier time with hitters. Ordonez still had another three-hit performance. Rivera was 2-for-4 with two RBI to extend his hitting streak to nine. Jantsch was 2-for-4 to improve his batting average to .471 but he has not played enough games yet to qualify for the MEAC batting title.
Rivera gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, in the third inning. Edney matched it with a two-run home run of his own in the Wildcats half of the third. Cruz gave the Wildcats the lead for good in the fifth with a solo home run.
Wilson (1-5) took the loss after going six innings, giving up four hits, three runs and striking out two. Seibold (1-3) was the winning with a complete game that included seven strikeouts. N.C. A&T's upcoming week includes a Tuesday game at UNC Greensboro (6 p.m.), a Wednesday contest at Winthrop (6:30 p.m.) and a three-game MEAC series at Savannah State starting on Saturday.
