North Carolina A&T (2-6) vs. Boston College (3-4) & Fairfield (0-3)
Date: Friday, Feb. 28 – Monday, March 2
Facility: War Memorial Stadium
Radio: https://ncataggies.com/watch/?Live=25&type=Live
EAST GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T baseball team will host the Boston College Eagles and the Fairfield University Stags this weekend in a round-robin tournament. The Aggies are slated to take on BC on Friday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. and Monday, March 2 at 4 p.m. They will face Fairfield on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 4 p.m. Fairfield and BC will play on Sunday while the Aggies have the day off.
PROBABLE STARTERS:
LF Shane Faulk (.235, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 runs
); CF Donte Wade (.111, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 7 runs
); RF Camden Williamson (.281, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 runs
); 3B Alex Reyna (.059, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 runs
); SS Dustin Baber (.265, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 5 runs
); 2B Connor Knapp (.417, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 3 runs
); 1B Zach Mclean
(.154, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 runs
); C Ryne Stanley (.111, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 3 runs
); DH Alex Bibb (.417, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs
)
PROBABLE WEEKEND ROTATION:
Friday (4 p.m.) vs. Boston College – RHP
Michael Johnson vs. RHP Mason Pelio
Saturday (4 p.m.) vs. Fairfield – LHP
Ethan Chavis vs. LHP Michael Sansone
Monday (4 p.m.) vs. Boston College – RHP
Cole Parks vs. TBA
WHO'S ON FIRE: Redshirt freshman
Connor Knapp is the reigning Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Week and is tied for a team-best .417 batting average with redshirt junior
Alex Bibb. Bibb has a team-high 10 hits in 24 at-bats. Senior
Camden Williamson is riding a seven-game hitting streak.
AGGIES OVERVIEW: The Aggies are coming off of an 8-0 midweek loss at the hands of the North Carolina Tar Heels. A&T is now 2-6 on the season. The Aggies were picked as the favorites to win the MEAC in the conference's preseason poll. A&T also landed the preseason pitcher of the year in senior RHP
Michael Johnson, as well as three other all-MEAC selections in first teamers Baber, Johnson, senior RHP
Leon Davidson and second teamer Stanley. The Aggies are led offensively by Bibb, who has a team-high 10 hits and a .417 batting average. Fifth-year head coach
Ben Hall is 113-153 overall at the helm of the program, but 89-74 over the last three years.
EAGLES OVERVIEW: The Eagles are coming off of a weekend sweep at the hands of No. 8 Arizona State. BC was outscored 26-12 over the three-game stretch. The Eagles went 31-27 last year and saw their season come to a close in an ACC semifinal loss to No. 17 North Carolina. After narrowly missing postseason play last season, the Eagles are poised for another run this year with seven starters returning to the lineup highlighted by 2019 freshman All-Americans outfielder Sal Frelick, infielder Cody Morissette and pitcher Mason Pelio. Morissette leads the team with three doubles this season. BC has two players batting a team-high .462 in senior outfielder Joe Suozzi and senior infielder Jack Cunningham. Head coach Mike Gambino is entering his 10
th year in the position and has an overall record of 211-279.
STAGS OVERVIEW: The Stags opened their season last weekend against UNCG losing all three games of the series. Fairfield was outscored 10-3 over the three-game stretch. The Stags won a program-best 35 games last season with a 35-25 record and were picked second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) preseason poll this year. Fairfield received three first-place votes and finished just four points behind preseason favorite and reigning champion Quinnipiac. Senior outfielder Dan Ryan and sophomore infielder Justin Guerrera received preseason All-MAAC selections. Eighth-year head coach Bill Currier has a 213-214 record at Fairfield and a 699-705-2 record overall.
News & Notes:
- The Aggies are projected to win the MEAC this year
- A&T is 0-0 at home so far this season. Their only home game thus far against App State was postponed in the top of the ninth inning and will resume on March 17th in Boone.
- An Aggie has earned conference weekly honors each of the first two weeks of the season (Chavis – Pitcher of the Week, Knapp – Rookie of the Week)
