GREENSBORO (April 23, 2016) – Saturday was almost perfect for the North Carolina A&T baseball team. The Aggies were afforded an opportunity to play at spectacular NewBridge Bank Park in downtown Greensboro, home of minor league baseball's Greensboro Grasshoppers. Their opponent was one of the best teams in the nation in No. 10 N.C. State. It was a gorgeous day and many of the N.C. A&T faithful attended the game in support of the Aggies.
What made it “almost” perfect was that the Wolfpack came away with a 9-1 win, making the score look lopsided with a late surge in the ninth inning.
“It was an exciting game in a great environment,” N.C. A&T head coach Ben Hall. “We brought a good contingent with us from A&T, and N.C. State brought a lot of their people.”
The game came about because both teams had an open weekend on their respective schedules prior to the season, and they both were under the number of competitive games the NCAA allows to be played. Once the three-game series was set for Raleigh, the idea was floated to play one of those games at NewBridge Bank Park. Both programs thought it a good idea, thus the Aggies were given an additional game at the home of the Grasshoppers. They defeated UNC Greensboro there on March 22.
N.C. A&T hit the ball well against the Wolfpack (27-11). Sophomore Milton Rivera junior Keenen Herring both went 2-for-4. Freshman Jarrett Norman provided the Aggies with their only run of the day, a towering blast that ricocheted of the Grasshoppers scoreboard in right field in the fifth inning.
Norman's homer brought the Aggies to within two at 3-1, after Aggies starter Bob Peck (RHP) withstood a tough beginning to keep the game competitive. Peck (1-5) went six innings, recorded four strikeouts and surrendered three earned runs as he left the game in the seventh to gracious applause from Aggie fans. The Wolfpack did add a run in the seventh off a double from Chance Shepard and a triple from Shane Shepard.
In the ninth, two two-run home runs, one by Preston Palmeiro and the other by Brett Kinneman, aided the Wolfpack in breaking the game open. Wolfpack right-handed starter Cory Wilder (3-1) got the win.
“When the opportunity came up to play the game in this park, it was a gem,” Hall said. “On top of that both teams played a really solid competitive game through the first eight innings, so it was disappointing to see us lose control of it in the ninth like that. But there is a reason they are where they are in the country.”
The Aggies (9-32) and the Wolfpack conclude their series 1 p.m., Sunday at Doak Field in Raleigh.
