DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina A&T Aggies lost the continuation of Friday night's game, 4-1, early Saturday morning to North Carolina Central (NCCU), but bounced back quickly with a 13-6 rout in Game 2 over the NCCU Eagles at Durham Athletic Park in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) baseball. 

The Aggies improve to 8-22 overall and 3-7 in the MEAC. 

"Nice to see the team bounce back," said head coach Ben Hall. "In the first game, we did not continue to log quality at-bats. In Game 2, the offense found ways to score throughout the game." 

Freshman left-hander Derek Martinez got the ball for the Aggies in the second game and shut out NCCU through the first four innings, enabling A&T to jump out to a 5-0 lead. The southpaw went 4.0 innings and allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts. 

"I thought Martinez made some big pitches and gave us a clean start to the game," said Hall. 

A&T jumped ahead in the visitor's second, plating two runs in the frame. Senior shortstop Dustin Baber smacked a single to right field for their first hit of the game, and fellow senior Camden Williamson followed with another single to put runners on first and second with one out. 

A walk drawn by sophomore Grant Tilley loaded. The Eagles then attempted a double play, resulting in a throwing error by the Eagles second baseman. The mishap allowed Alex Reyna to reach and Baber to score. Senior catcher Ryne Stanley launched a fly out into deep center field that allowed Williamson to score from third to put A&T ahead 2-0. 

The Aggies blew the game open, scoring nine runs between innings five through seven, highlighted by a two-run RBI triple from Baber in the sixth. 

Justin Rodriguez had two hits with two RBI and two runs scored in innings five and six. He finished the second game 3-for-6 with a team-high five RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Baber also had three hits, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored. Freshman Alex Reyna went 1-for-3, drawing two walks and scoring three times.             

The 13 runs in the second are a single-game high for the Aggies in 2021. It was their 11th double-digit hitting game of the year. 

The teams began the day by finishing Friday's game in the home eighth. The Aggies scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning courtesy of an RBI single up the middle from Rodriguez. It was one of five hits on the day for A&T. 

Eagles starter Austin Vernon went 6.0 innings, allowing four of those hits and the one run and seven strikeouts to earn the win for NCCU. 

Graduate catcher Kokko Figueiredo paced NCCU with his 3-for-4 line that included a home run and RBI. 

"Collectively, we have to turn the page," said Hall. "A lot of baseball left to be played tomorrow." 

The teams will compete in a doubleheader comprised of two seven-inning games on Sunday, April 11, beginning at 1 p.m.