ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the second-straight day, North Carolina A&T came up one run short, 5-4, against the Winthrop Eagles in Big South Conference baseball action at The Winthrop Ballpark Sunday afternoon.

Freshman catcher Canyon Brown homered for the third straight game, joined by graduate infielder Alec Seaton who also homered on Sunday. Juniors Cameran Brantley and Anthony Hennings tallied a team-high two hits on the day, with Brantley also compiling an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Brantley's sac fly gave the Aggies (13-37, 1-20) a 3-1 lead heading into the Winthrop fifth. The Eagles (17-32, 10-11) responded promptly, however, with a four-run fifth.  

Robby Taul led off with a double, followed by an RBI single from CJ Conrad, who advanced to second on the throw to the infield. The next batter, Joseph Szvetitz, brought Conrad around to score with an RBI single to right center. Then, Dillion Morton produced the fourth straight hit of the inning, and it was a big one, as he hit his third home run of the series over the wall in right center to give Winthrop a 5-3 advantage. 

Freshman right-handed pitcher Jaheim Brown (L, 1-5), who started the game for the Aggies on the mound, exited after the Morton homer. Brown threw the first four innings and gave up five runs on 10 hits with three strikeouts. Junior Trey Fields replaced him. Fields did give up another hit in the inning but did not allow another Eagles run and recorded a strikeout in the process. 

Fields kept pitching well over the next two innings, holding the Eagles scoreless. It also allowed A&T to eat into the Eagles lead. 

A&T put together a three-hit eighth capped by an RBI single from sophomore Chet Sikes to cut the deficit to one. The Aggies would put runners on second and third after a Shemar Dalton fly out advanced Sikes and junior Anthony Hennings singled down the right field line earlier. 

But Brown popped out to end the eight, and the Aggies went quietly in the ninth as their comeback attempt fell short for a second straight day. 

Garrett Gainey (W, 5-5) started the game for Winthrop and provided 7.1 innings of work, allowing four runs on seven hits, but striking out eight. 

Willie Lumpkin (SV, 5) came on in the eighth and threw the final 1.2 innings for his fifth save of the season, allowing just two hits and striking out one. 

Szvetitz and Taul each accrued a team-best three hits for the Eagles, and Morton led with two RBI offensively.