EAST GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T baseball team swept a doubleheader over the Holy Cross Crusaders on Saturday afternoon inside War Memorial Stadium, 4-2 and 9-4.
The Aggies improved to 5-6 after winning for the fourth time in five games.
Game 1
The A&T bats wasted no time getting going in the first game. With runners at the corners and two outs, graduate infielder Alec Seaton popped up to Crusader third baseman Nick Wang, but the early afternoon sun was blaring, and Wang lost sight of the pop fly before it dropped innocently in front of him, scoring Brantley from third.
On the very next play, junior infielder Anthony Hennings popped up toward HC first baseman Nate Wolf, who also lost the ball in the sun, scoring Bussey from third and putting the Aggies up 2-0.
The Crusaders tied the game with two runs in the top of the third. Despite those two runs, junior lefty Daniel Carter (W, 2-1) turned in a nice line as the starting pitcher for A&T, going 5.0 innings and allowing just two runs on four hits with three strikeouts.
The Aggies responded with their final two runs in the fourth inning. Hennings led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Junior Cort Maynard earned a base on balls, and then sophomore TJ Ash reached on a throwing error from Crusader catcher Angelo D'Acunto.
Ash dropped a bunt to advance both runners, but D'Acunto's throw to first base sailed and allowed Hennings to score. Freshman catcher Canyon Brown then drove a fly ball deep enough into the outfield to score Maynard to give A&T a 4-2 advantage.
Freshman right-hander Evan Demurias, who relieved Carter on the bump, threw 4.0 hitless innings with a strikeout to earn his first career save.
"We got it done," said A&T coach Ben Hall. "All wins are good wins, like legendary (A&T football coach Rod Broadway) used to say. We stuck with the game. Evan Demurias was really the key to the game. He came in, settled us down and pitched with great tempo, and finished the game for us on the mound."
Game 2
Much like Game 1, the Aggie bats got going quickly. A&T put up a five-spot in the opening frame that began with a walk from junior Cameran Brantley.
Seaton singled to put runners on first and second. Bussey smacked a grounder to Crusader shortstop Sam Kirkpatrick who threw it to second base to turn a double play, but his throw caused Peek to come off the bag, and everyone was safe to load the bases.
Hennings then belted a one-out, two-run single into right center to score Brantley and Bussey. Hennings swiped second before Brown smacked a single that hugged the left field line, driving in two more runs.
Brown tallied the fifth run a few batters later when Ash drove him in with a single to third base. A&T tacked on two more runs to their lead in the third with a two-RBI double to left center from Maynard. His day was not even close to done, either.
HC picked up a single run in the fifth thanks to an RBI groundout from Kirkpatrick, but Maynard canceled it out in the home half, belting a home run over the left center field wall for his first career four-bagger as an Aggie. Maynard turned in a 2-for-4 performance with a double, a home run and three RBI.
"He can play," said Hall when asked about Maynard's big day. "He's a good player; he was just in a rut here to start the season. I was trying to get him to relax and make some small adjustments to give himself a better chance, and I just told him to get on top of the ball. He hit a chopper, and I knew he would put a better swing on the ball. He's a good baseball player, and baseball players go through ruts. It's going to happen, and you just have to play through them."
Bussey got in on the action the following inning, smashing a ball that followed the trail of Maynard's over the wall in left center field for his first homer of the season and his second at A&T.
Logan Jarosz (W, 1-1) got the start for A&T on the mound and picked up his first win, going 6.0 innings and allowing just two runs, one earned, on five hits with eight strikeouts. His relievers combined three innings of work and four strikeouts to seal Jarosz's first career win at A&T.
