EAST GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T lost both games of a Saturday baseball doubleheader against N.C. Central inside War Memorial Stadium in the opening weekend of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) action. The Aggies lost Game 1, 6-2, and Game 2, 6-4.
The Aggies (5-13, 0-2 MEAC) made things interesting down the second game stretch.
They trailed the Eagles 6-3, heading into the home seventh when senior Camden Williamson led off the inning by being hit by a pitch.
Freshman Connor Knapp followed with a strikeout, but freshman Trevor Sheehan smacked his second double of the ballgame down the left field line to send Williamson to third. After senior Dustin Baber flew out to right field, junior Justin Williams ran out an infield single to score Williamson and advance Sheehan to third as the winning run coming to the plate.
The Aggies could not cash in, however, as senior Shane Faulk struck out looking.
Central's big fourth inning proved to be the difference in Game 2 as the Eagles plated five runs in the frame, aided by two errors from the Aggies that made three of those unearned.
In the first game, both teams enjoyed solid starts from their aces. Senior right-hander Michael Johnson for the Aggies and redshirt junior right-hander Austin Vernon for the Eagles.
Johnson (0-3) turned in a complete seven-inning game allowing six runs, four earned, on seven hits with eight strikeouts.
The Aggies were able to plate a run in the first inning and jump out front, 1-0, thanks to Vernon's throwing error combined with a passed ball that allowed sophomore Tony Mack to score from second.
From there, Vernon went on a tear, pitching 6.0 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits with 11 strikeouts, one shy of his career-high.
The Eagles (10-6, 2-0 MEAC) tied the game in the fifth inning and blew it open in the sixth courtesy of a three-run shot over the right-field fence from junior infielder Patrick Doran.
The Aggies struggled from the plate in both games. Sophomore Cameran Brantley came into the weekend sporting a team-high .390 batting averaging and riding a 15-game streak of reaching base safely. But Brantley went 0-for-8 in the two contests on Saturday.
The Aggies salvaged 10 hits but stranded 16 runners on the base paths. Sheehan was the only A&T player to record multiple hits with his two doubles in Game 2. Doran paced the Eagles through both games, going a combined 3-for-7 with a home run and team-high three RBI.
The teams will play two more seven-inning games tomorrow, March 21, at War Memorial Stadium, beginning at 2 p.m.
