EAST GREENSBORO – For the first time since 2019, the North Carolina A&T baseball team earned a win over the UNC Greensboro Spartans. The Aggies rallied from a four-run deficit Tuesday afternoon at World War Memorial Stadium to down the Spartans, 7-5.
A&T (3-5) trailed 5-1 in the sixth inning, with three of the Spartans' (3-5) runs unearned on a pair of errors from third baseman Cort Maynard.
But junior Bret Mersman roped a one-out double to center field before graduate Alec Seaton did the same, smacking his team-leading fourth two-bagger to left center, scoring Mersman. Sophomore TJ Ash then sliced a two-out single up the middle to score Seaton and to cut UNCG's lead to 5-3.
A&T continued to inch closer in the seventh when Hennings blooped an RBI single right over second base to score junior Cameran Brantley.
Freshman right-hander Evan Demurias (W, 1-1) relieved fellow freshman Jaheim Brown in the seventh and allowed just one hit over the final three innings with three strikeouts, enabling the Aggie offense the chance to come back.
Seaton led off the home eighth with yet another double, his fifth of the year. Barrett ran out a high-chopper to put runners on the corners with no one out. Ash drew a walk to load the bases with freshman Canyon Brown coming to the plate. Brown whacked a grounder to third, but it rolled right between UNCG infielder Matt Kemp's legs to tie the game at 5.
Brantley would pull a grounder toward the hole between first and second base, but Spartan second baseman Hogan Windish made a great play, firing the ball home to get the force out at the plate and save the run.
Already 2-for-2 on the day, sophomore Alex Reyna stepped to the plate. He wasted no time, narrowly fitting a single through the left side to score both Ash and Brown to give the Aggies a 7-5 lead. UNCG caught Brantley in a rundown trying to get to third on the play, and then the Spartans threw out Reyna, trying to swipe second to end the frame.
UNCG's Pres Cavenaugh drew a one-out walk, and then Zack Budzik singled to put runners on first and second in the visitor's ninth. However, Demurias got Windish to hit into a game-ending double play to give the Aggies the win over their crosstown rival.
"I'm excited, man," said A&T coach Ben Hall. "It was a great ballgame, and we really competed. There was a point in the game where we could've let it get away from us, but credit to the players. They rallied up and made the adjustments and kept playing the game and competing, and there's a big saying in baseball, 'You have 27 outs to play with, and you just have to continue to compete through all 27 outs, and that's what they did tonight."
Reyna turned in the best game of his career, going 3-for-3 with that go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth. He also had two putouts, four assists and two double plays defensively at shortstop.
"That guy has gotten so much better," said Hall of Reyna. "He's a much better hitter today than he was the last couple of years, and he's got more confidence. He's a guy that went out and played in the Appalachian League this summer and found some confidence in the box. He can play anywhere on the field, and he just competes."
Seaton joined Reyna with a multi-hit game in his 2-for-4 performance, including two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Barrett had his first multi-hit game as an Aggie, going 2-for-4, and Brantley went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored.
