MYRTLE BEACH (February 19, 2017) – North Carolina A&T closed out the Caravelle Resort's Baseball at the Beach Tournament with a 16-7 loss to Western Carolina at Pelican Park on Sunday. The Aggies closed out the tournament 0-3.
The upside for the Aggies was that they got back-to-back strong pitching performances before the Catamounts were able to break through offensively against N.C. A&T. Despite the 9-run gap, the Aggies also saw their offense come alive after scoring only two runs over the first two games of the tournament.
From his leadoff position, junior Greg White led the Aggies by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Junior Myles Sowell was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while junior Adan Ordonez and freshman Camden Williamson had two RBI apiece.
The day started off well for the Aggies who were designated as the visitors. White led off the game with a double to right-center field. With one out, Ordonez reached on a fielder's choice and eventually moved to second on a bunt from senior Kyle Clary. Williamson then came through with a two-run, two-out RBI single through the right side to score White and Ordonez for a 2-0 Aggies lead. The Catamounts answered in the bottom half of the inning. After Bryson Bowman homered to put WCU on the board, Matt Smith and Caleb Robinson hit back-to-back singles which was complemented by an RBI single Pierce Suttles to tie the game at 2.
The game turned on the second inning when the Catamounts scored 10 runs on seven hits. Caleb Robinson and Nobu Suzuki had two RBI apiece in the inning. The biggest blow came from Matthew Koehler who blasted a three-run home run as the Catamounts took a 12-2 lead.
N.C. A&T did subtly try to get back into the game after the Catamounts' big inning. Pinch-hitter A.J. Hunt opened the fifth inning with a single. Sowell also singled which set up an RBI single from White. Rivera drove in another Aggies' run when he doubled down the left-field line to score Sowell. Ordonez cut the lead to 12-6 when he produced two more runs with a single through the left side to score White and Rivera.
Sowell added another Aggies run in the seventh with a solo home run before the Catamounts put the game away with a four-run eighth. Left-hand starter Jonah Owenby (0-1) took the loss for the Aggies. The Aggies did get six innings of scoreless relief as seniors Bob Peck and Kaeson Wilson gobbled up two innings apiece. B.J. Nobles went eight innings, gave up seven runs and struck out seven to get the win.
N.C. A&T returns to action Wednesday for their home opener as they take on Norfolk State at 4 p.m., at War Memorial Stadium.
