EAST GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T baseball team defeated a Power Five opponent for the second-straight year, this time knocking off Boston College, 2-1, on Friday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium.
 
"That was a great Friday game," said N.C. A&T coach Ben Hall. "Two elite starters going against each other. I thought Michael was excellent. He got through that first inning and really settled in. He is just so consistent and today he had all three pitches."
 
Senior right-handed ace Michael Johnson dealt a gem for the Aggies (3-6) going seven innings and allowing just one run on six hits with a season-high eight strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Evan Gates entered in the eighth after senior Leon Davidson threw 0.2 innings with a strikeout. Gates went 1.1 innings and slammed the door on the Eagles (3-5) with two strikeouts in the ninth.
 
"Leon and Evan both came in and did what you expect from senior relievers," said Hall. "We knew going into the game we were going to have to pitch/defend and execute in a tight, highly-contested game. I thought my guys did that today."
 
The Aggies struggled offensively early on and trailed Boston College, 1-0, heading into the sixth. After senior Camden Williamson walked and Bibb was hit-by-pitch, senior centerfielder Donte Wade came to the plate with two outs and roped a double down the left field line to score Williamson from second and tie the game at one apiece.
 
The next inning, junior Justin Williams recorded his first hit of the season with a leadoff single. Senior catcher Ryne Stanley laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Williams to second with Connor Knapp coming up in a pinch-hit situation. Knapp would walk and Williams advanced to third on a wild pitch. Senior Dustin Baber stepped into the batter's box and launched a sacrifice flyout deep enough into centerfield for Williams to score from third and the Aggies took the lead for good, 2-1.
 
Next up, the Aggies will take on Fairfield tomorrow, Feb. 29 at 4 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.