EAST GREENSBORO – A sluggish start led to the North Carolina A&T dropping its Friday afternoon Big South Conference baseball contest against the Campbell Fighting Camels, 16-6, inside War Memorial Stadium.
Campbell clinches the series victory with the win and improves to 21-12 overall and 10-1 in Big South play. The Aggies dropped to 12-21 overall and 1-10 in league action.
After scoring eight runs in the top of the first on Thursday, the Camels scored five first-inning runs in Friday's game.
Sophomore right-hander Logan Jarosz (L, 2-4) struggled to find the strike zone early and walked the first three Campbell batters to load the bases. A fielding error from Aggie shortstop Sabin Roane allowed the first run to cross the plate and keep the bases loaded with no outs.
Connor Denning stepped to the plate and singled to right field, bringing in another run and advancing everyone 90 feet before Drake Pierson turned on a ball down the left field line that emptied the bases, making it 5-0.
A&T replaced Jarosz with freshman RHP Jake Delisi, who retired the side after entering the game. Delisi turned in a solid line, going three innings with two hits and two runs, both unearned, and two strikeouts.
The Camels scratched across five more runs in the third and fourth innings to make it 9-0, a spurt highlighted by a fourth-inning two-run double from Logan Jordan.
Campbell got a great start from their ace Thomas Harrington (W, 8-1), who went six innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits with 11 strikeouts.
In the fourth, the Aggies got on the board when graduate infielder Alec Seaton reached on a throwing error from Jarrod Belbin at third that allowed sophomore designated hitter Chet Sikes to score.
A&T added another run in the fifth.
Freshman Canyon Brown, who had a breakout 3-for-3 game that included his first career home run, led off the inning with a triple. Junior Cameran Brantley smacked a grounder toward Pierson at first, and Brown came in to score on the play to make it 9-2.
Campbell plated two runs in its sixth, aided by a home run from Pierson, his third of the weekend.
A&T did most of their damage offensively in the seventh after Harrington exited. After a pitch hit Brown and Brantley walked, Hennings laced a double just over Waldy Arias's head at second base. The ball rolled to the wall in right center and enabled both runners to score.
The Aggies got one final run in the eighth on a solo homer from Brown, a moon shot that hugged the left field line and stayed fair to allow him to trot the bases. He finished his day a double shy of the cycle.
