GREENSBORO (April 30, 2016) – Demetrius Sims delivered North Carolina A&T's hopes of playing baseball in the postseason a staggering blow on Saturday when he hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning to lead Bethune-Cookman to a 7-6 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader at War Memorial Stadium. The Wildcats won the second game 6-0 to further hurt the Aggies' chances.
N.C. A&T now stands at 10-35 overall and 3-14 in the MEAC's southern division. The top three teams out of the south and north make up the six-team MEAC Baseball Championship Tournament May 18-22. The No. 3 out of the south, North Carolina Central, didn't do the Aggies any favors on Saturday ether. The Eagles swept their doubleheader at Savannah State and now are 5 ½ game ahead of N.C. A&T with only seven MEAAC games remaining for the Aggies. The Aggies are still mathematically alive but with the Eagles holding the tiebreaker in head-to-head competition, N.C. A&T will most certainly have to get hot and receive help from other places.
The Aggies did their best to help themselves in Game 1 on Saturday. They took a 3-0 lead in the third as a throwing error on a Jarrett Norman sacrifice bunt attempt allowed two Aggies to score and Norman to go to third. Sophomore Milton Rivera followed with a sac fly to right field to score Norman for the three-run advantage. The Wildcats (22-22, 14-6 MEAC) scored the next six runs to take a 6-3 advantage before the Aggies put together another three-run inning.
A one-out bunt single in the seventh by sophomore Forest Kimbrell started N.C. A&T's rally. B-CU reliever, right-hander Alexis Herrera, then walked sophomore Myles Sowell which was followed by a Timothy Ravare single that loaded the bases. Herrera compounded his problems by forcing in a run when he walked Norman. Herrera was replaced by RHP Zach Olszewski.
Olszewski did get Rivera, the Aggies leading hitter, to strike out. But sophomore Adan Ordonez hit a fly ball into right center field where a sliding right fielder in Nathan Bond charged in to make the catch. It was ruled he trapped the ball which allowed Ravare and Sowell to score to tie the game at 6.
After giving up a leadoff hit, LHP Danny Garrett retired the next three Wildcat batters in the visitor's half of the eighth to keep the game tied. The Aggies were unsuccessful in their half of the eighth leading to the drama in the ninth. Right-hander Leon Hunter, Jr., took over for N.C. A&T in the ninth inning, and everything seemed to be going smoothly for him. He got a great defensive play from Rivera at short as Nate Sterijevski hit a ground ball up the middle that Rivera scooped up going to his left before turning his body and making a perfect throw to first. Hunter then got Edney to foul out before hanging one over the plate to Sims for the Wildcats' game-winning homer.
N.C. A&T did put one on in their half of the ninth, but RHP Clint Clymer retired three straight Aggies in a row to improve to 2-3. Hunter (2-3) took the loss. Ordonez was 2-for-4 with two RBI and Sowell and Ravare had two hits apiece.
In the second game, Wildcat right-hander Tyler Krull threw a complete-game, one-hitter while striking out seven. Ravare had the Aggies lone hit.
The two teams are scheduled to meet again at 1 p.m., on Sunday at WMS.
