North Carolina A&T (13-34, 1-17) vs. Winthrop (14-32, 7-11)
Date: Friday, May 13 – Sunday, May 15
Time(s): 5 p.m.; 2 p.m.; 1 p.m.
Facility: The Winthrop Ballpark (Rock Hill, S.C.)
A&T Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Anthony Hennings (.337)
Home Runs: Cort Maynard (8)
Doubles: Hennings (13)
Triples: Canyon Brown (3)
RBI: Brown (28)
Slugging Percentage: Maynard (.471)
On-Base Percentage: Cameran Brantley (.385)
A&T Pitching Leaders
ERA: Jake Delisi (4.40)
Strikeouts: Peyton Winebarger (65)
Innings Pitched: Winebarger (61.2)
Saves: Evan Demurias (2)
A&T Big South Leaders (Top-25)
Batting Average: Hennings (.337) – 8th
Home Runs: Maynard (8) –14th
Doubles: Hennings (13) – 8th; Alec Seaton (11) – 19th; Maynard (10) – 22nd; Brantley (10) – 23rd; Brown (10) – 25th
Triples: Brown (3) – 3rd
RBI: Brown (28) –24th
Slugging Percentage: Maynard (.471) – 24th
A&T National Leaders (Top-100)
Base on Balls: Brantley (34) – 91st
Hit by Pitch: Maynard (17) – 27th
PROBABLE ROTATION:
LHP Daniel Carter (2-5, 6.35 ERA, 45.1 IP, 44 K)
LHP Peyton Winebarger (2-7, 5.98 ERA, 61.2 IP, 65 K)
RHP Jaheim Brown (1-5, 7.38 ERA, 61.0 IP, 43 K)
RECENT HISTORY: These schools have played eight times since 2014, with Winthrop winning six of those matchups. However, the last time they clashed, the Aggies defeated the Eagles, 7-4, on May 3, 2017, in Rock Hill.
AGGIES OVERVIEW: The Aggies have had as up-and-down a year as a baseball team could. They have beaten Power Five schools such as North Carolina and Pittsburgh, nearly taking a three-game series against the Panthers a couple of weeks ago. But, on the flip side, they have also lost 17 of their 18 Big South Conference games. In addition, they have struggled to put the three main phases (hitting, pitching and fielding) together at one time.
For example, last weekend, they enjoyed junior left-hander Daniel Carter's best start on the mound when he threw seven innings of one-run baseball and struck out six opposing batters. The offense, however, mustered just one hit and dropped Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader, 1-0.
They have one player, freshman catcher Canyon Brown, ranked in the Big South's top-25 for RBI, while six of the other 10 teams have multiple players ranked in that range.
Junior infielder Anthony Hennings has been a bright spot offensively, reaching the top of the Big South in batting average more than once in 2022. He bats a team-best .337, but in his last 10 games, he is hitting .200.
Head coach Ben Hall is in his eighth year at A&T and has an overall 154-226 (.416) record. He has coached the Aggies in all eight recent matchups against the Eagles, winning two.
EAGLES OVERVIEW: Winthrop ended an 11-game skid with Tuesday's 9-6 extra-inning victory over The Citadel. The Eagles have, however, still dropped their last seven conference games, most recently enduring a three-game sweep at the hands of the Campbell Fighting Camels.
In the league's preseason baseball poll, as voted on by its head coaches, Winthrop was projected to finish sixth. The Eagles head into the weekend tied for eighth in the Big South standings with Gardner-Webb.
The Eagles have a lone batter over the .300-mark in senior catcher/infielder Dillon Morton, who comes in at .304 to lead the team. Morton also boasts team-highs in home runs (11) and RBI (39), with sophomore outfielder Khyree Miller behind him at 10 homers.
As a team, Winthrop is seventh in the league, batting a collective .256, just two points higher than A&T.
On the other side of the diamond, they have a 7.06 team ERA, which is tenth in the Big South.
Sophomore LHP Garrett Gainey has tossed a team-high 60.2 innings this season. He has allowed 43 runs, all earned, in that span to tally his 6.38 ERA to go with 45 strikeouts, just behind fellow sophomore Carter Sutton's team-leading 47.
The Eagles are 11-16 at home this season.
Head coach Tom Riginos is in his 12th year as Winthrop after taking the job in 2011. He has an overall record of 296-318 (.482), including a 147-134 (.523) conference mark.
