JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (April 5, 2016)  – North Carolina A&T and East Tennessee State went after each other offensively on the baseball field in the first inning before ETSU pulled away for a 15-5 win Tuesday night at Thomas Stadium.

Seven different Aggies recorded hits including Milton Rivera who extended his hitting streak to 15 with a 1-for-4 performance that included a run scored. Junior Kyle Clary drove in two runs while going 1-for-3 with a run scored for the Aggies (7-24).

Neither starter lasted long as the Buccaneers (15-13) posted 16 hits. Matt Stanley (LHP) lasted two innings while Buccaneer started Josh Jacques lasted only one frame. The Aggies got to him early as Rivera doubled to left field which was followed by a double from sophomore Adan Ordonez. An error allowed Ryan Jantsch while also permitting Rivera to score. Freshman Dawnoven Smith's RBI sacrifice fly to right scored Ordonez which was followed by a Clary RBI double to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead.

Junior Keenan Herring closed out the first inning with an RBI single to left that scored Clary as the Buccaneers faced a 4-0 deficit going into their half of the first.

ETSU, however, put together a string of hits to overcome the early deficit. The Aggies still led 4-3 when the Buccaneers recorded their second out of the inning. But Blake Rowlett walked to load the bases ahead of Dillon Clift walking to force in a run and tie the game at 4. The Buccaneers took the lead for good on a two-run RBI single that scored Clift and Rowlett for a 6-4 ETSU advantage.

ETSU added on another run in the second and two more in the third to take a 9-4 lead. A five-run fifth then helped the Buccaneers truly pull away. Aaron Maher had the biggest swing as he connected for a three-run homer. Kevin Phillips followed with a home run to close out the scoring in the fifth.

Stanley dropped to 0-3 on the season while Blake Smith got the win for the Buccaneers to improve to 3-4. N.C. A&T will not have to wait before they return to the field to come away with a better result. N.C. A&T will host Elon at War Memorial Stadium Wednesday night at 6.