EAST GREENSBORO – Baseball is a weird game. One day you can be dominant and have everything go right.
The next, nothing goes right. A day after posting 16 runs, North Carolina A&T dropped the series finale against the Canisius Golden Griffins, 4-0, inside War Memorial Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
A&T dropped to 9-10 on the season.
"Everything went our way yesterday," said A&T coach Ben Hall. "Today, we didn't do anything to make things go our way. Tip your cap to their pitcher. He did what they needed him to do. He came aggressively at us with the fastball, and we didn't make things happen offensively. Bottom line.
We didn't make adjustments, we were stubborn in the box at times, and we struck out 10 times on majority fastballs. We didn't sustain the consistency and success we created for ourselves yesterday."
Canisius (8-10) got a fantastic start from its junior left-handed pitcher Chris Pouliot (W, 3-1), who went seven innings and gave up just one hit with eight strikeouts.
He also got some essential run support from the Golden Griffin offense, who did most of their damage in the third inning, plating three runs. Catcher Mike Mazzara laced a ball to right field with one out in the third. A&T outfielder Xavier Bussey laid out in an attempt to make a fantastic catch but just missed the ball, and it rolled to the wall.
Mazzara was able to leg out a triple on the play. The next batter, Canisius' lead-off hitter Mike DeStefano, promptly homered to right field, putting the Golden Griffins up 2-0.
Max Grant's single marked the third straight hit before designated hitter Mike Steffan drew a walk. Grant advanced to second on a passed ball during Steffan's at-bat, and then right fielder Dylan Vincent drove him home on a single up the middle, making it 3-0.
In the fifth inning, Vincent had another RBI single, finalizing Canisius' run total. He led the Golden Griffins with his 2-for-4, two-RBI line.
Junior LHP Peyton Winebarger (L, 2-1) got the nod for A&T and pitched 5.0 innings, surrendering four runs, three earned, on five hits with seven strikeouts.
A&T struggled mightily on the offensive side, mustering just three hits in the game after belting 19 the day before.
Junior left fielder Cameran Brantley tallied two himself, going 2-for-4, while sophomore center fielder TJ Ash accrued the other base knock.
The Aggies didn't get a runner into scoring position until the fifth when Ash walked and then stole second, his second swiped bag of the year. Two straight groundouts ended the frame, however.
"We're playing good baseball. We still have to learn how to sweep a series," said Hall. "I told them, you win three-in-a-row, then you win four, you win five, you win six, and you do that by maintaining consistency and sustaining success. What you do to create success over three games is what you have to do in the fourth, fifth, and sixth game, and if your energy wanes, if you don't bring the same killer instinct, then that's when you drop one.
We have to learn how to bring it every day. Sweeps are big. When you get into conference play and have the chance to do it, you have to take advantage of it."
