North Carolina A&T (1-3) vs. Appalachian State (3-1)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 27 – Sunday, Feb. 28
Facility: Kidd Brewer Stadium & War Memorial Stadium
Time(s): 12 p.m. doubleheader, Saturday, 2 p.m., Sunday
PROBABLE STARTERS: LF Justin Rodriguez (.333, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 runs); CF TJ Ash (.333, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 runs); RF Cameran Brantley (.091, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 runs); 3B Grant Tilley (.333, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 runs); SS Dustin Baber (.308, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 runs); 2B Tony Mack (.214, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 runs); 1B Justin Williams (.308, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 runs); C Ryne Stanley (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 runs); DH Camden Williamson (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 runs)
PROBABLE WEEKEND ROTATION:
Game 1: RHP Michael Johnson (0-1, 1.29 ERA, 7 K)
Game 2: LHP Ethan Chavis (0-1, 30.00 ERA, 2 K)
Game 3: RHP Cole Parks (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 5 K)
WHO'S ON FIRE: Senior right-handed pitcher Michael Johnson threw a one-hitter through seven innings of work with seven strikeouts in his first start of the year. Opposing batters are hitting .048 against him this year. In two appearances and 3.0 innings, senior closer Evan Gates has three strikeouts and a save while surrendering just one hit. Junior outfielder Justin Rodriguez is hitting a team-high .333 this year and hit the game-winning home run against College of Charleston in Game 1 last Sunday.
AGGIES OVERVIEW: The North Carolina A&T is slated to take on the App State Mountaineers in a home-and-home weekend series. The two teams play a Saturday noon doubleheader at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, followed by a Sunday afternoon game at War Memorial Stadium in Greensboro. The Aggies are coming off a tough midweek loss against Liberty, 16-2, on Wednesday afternoon at Liberty's Baseball Field in Lynchburg, Va. The Aggies have struggled to hit the ball early on in the year with a team batting average of .250 and 30 batters left stranded on base. Head coaches and sports information directors picked A&T to win the southern division in the MEAC preseason poll. Hall, who enters his seventh season, is 120-163 overall in Aggieland.
MOUNTAINEERS OVERVIEW: The Mountaineers are 3-1 this season after taking two of three games against Winthrop in a season-opening weekend series and beating ETSU in their first midweek game of the year. In the Sun Belt's 2021 preseason poll, App State was projected to finish fifth in the East division, receiving 21 votes. Second baseman Luke Drumheller was named a preseason All-Sun Belt selection for the second-straight season. He is batting .267 through 15 at-bats with one double, one home run and three RBI. Junior outfielder Phillip Cole leads the team with his .467 batting average and seven hits. He also has a home run and team-high four RBI with 10 total bases. Senior southpaw Quinton Martinez was named Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week after going 1-0 with 7.0 innings pitched, allowing no runs on three hits with four strikeouts. Skipper Kermit Smith is in his fifth season at App State and has a record of 73-110 at the program's helm.
News & Notes:
- The last time these two teams met, App State defeated the Aggies, 6-2, in a rain-shortened, eight-inning game on Feb. 18, 2020.
- Sunday's game will be the Aggies 2021 home opener, where they were 5-3 last season.
- The Mountaineers were 2-0 at home and 9-6 on the road last year.
- The Aggies had two players receive conference weekly honors last week (Johnson: co-Pitcher of the Week; Ash: Rookie of the Week)
- A&T has six players batting .308 or better
