Baseball | 2/15/2023 7:41:00 PM
EAST GREENSBORO – A giant banner that reads WELCOME TO WAR MEMORIAL STADIUM greets fans and visitors as they walk through the chain-linked gates of World War Memorial Stadium on the corner of Yanceyville and East Lindsay Streets. Right below those words is the trademarked Aggie doghead logo enlarged.
And right below the logo reveals a few chapters of the past, the present, and the future story of North Carolina A&T baseball. It reads, HOME OF AGGIES BASEBALL. The 2023 A&T baseball season starts, at 4 p.m., Friday at War Memorial Stadium, as it is commonly known, against former Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) rival Maryland Eastern Shore.
But the days of A&T playing in the MEAC are long gone as the Aggies enter Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play for the first time this season after a year of playing in the Big South Conference. As the Aggies enter the CAA after going 15-38 overall and 3-21 in the Big South last season, a lot is said about where A&T baseball plays its home games.
As a casual visitor walks beyond the banner and looks toward left field, a considerable-sized No. 17 banner captures the attention as a symbol of A&T's illustrious history in the sport. It is the retired number of A&T baseball legend Al Holland who pitched in the 1983 World Series and is a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Before entering the stadium, a quick walk to the right takes you into the A&T clubhouse, where head coach Ben Hall and his staff spearheaded considerable renovations over the past 3-4 years. Take a left out of the clubhouse, walk down the concourse, and there sit the new coaches' offices filled with A&T's history on the walls and plenty of space for the coaching staff to work.
Some redeeming qualities of the stadium must be recognized. Then there are things about the stadium that is undeniable. It is almost 100 years old. It does not have some of the technological advances of other newer ballparks. Plus, it does not handle the elements well anymore. It is what they would call on HGTV a fixer-upper.
And that fix-up is on the way. A year ago, the university took ownership of the stadium and, months later, received a grant to renovate it. But until then, there is baseball to be played.
"Getting the news that we could get War Memorial and renovate it was epic," said Hall, who enters his ninth season at A&T with 156 career wins, two regular-season conference titles, a conference tournament championship and one NCAA regional appearance to his credit. "It could be landscape-changing for A&T baseball. Mid-majors, what people call FCS in football, are making huge investments in baseball because it's all about player development and the influx of technology.
The opportunity for student-athletes to have a 24-7 opportunity to improve is vital. But we don't make excuses. We have bats and balls like everybody else, and we are going to work our butts off. So we're excited about getting started."
And with that, play ball at #TheWar!
Returning Position Participants
The Aggies return some pop from last season. It starts with sophomore Canyon Brown, a Big South All-Freshman team member, a year ago. The conference also named Brown honorable mention all-conference, and he won Big South rookie of the week honors three times. Brown batted .276 overall and .319 against Big South opponents.
Behind the plate, he compiled a .978 fielding percentage with 397 putouts and threw out 22 runners attempting to steal. In addition, Brown tallied 14 multi-hit games through 2022, including a career-high three hits on five different occasions. On April 15 against Campbell, who will be joining the CAA next season, he went 3-for-3 with his first career home run and added a triple and an RBI. He led the team in RBI with 36 and recorded seven home runs.
The Aggies also return their leading hitter in Anthony Hennings, who batted .335 last season with 24 RBI, 14 doubles, one triple, and a home run. Hennings will likely play less shortstop this season because the Aggies can move players to different infield positions by adding two solid defensive players at shortstop. He will probably see the majority of his action at third base.
Junior Cameran Brantley brings the most experience to the Aggies list of returners, having played in the program for two years and 102 games. He is a career .268 hitter with 13 home runs and 48 RBI. Brantley is also good at getting on base, having drawn 81 career base on balls with a .412 on-base percentage.
In addition, Brantley led the Aggies in stolen bases (8) last season. According to Hall, a player who had a marvelous fall was Camden Jackson. Jackson batted .273 with four home runs and 27 RBI.
The other big bat back in the Aggies lineup belongs to Cort Maynard. Maynard hit the towering grand slam last season in Chapel Hill, leading the Aggies to the 7-6 upset of the UNC Tar Heels. Maynard blasted eight homers last season, including three in a 16-4 win over Canisius on March 19. The return of Chet Sikes from injury will be a major plus for the Aggies. In addition, TJ Ash and Shemar Dalton return to add depth to the Aggies outfield. Sabin Roane will add depth in the infield for A&T.
"Last year opened their eyes to what we need to do to win," said Hall about his returners. "As bad as last season hurt, we weren't totally blown out of games. We were a pitcher or two short in a lot of those conference series in being in a much better place. Now our returning guys know what they must do to be competitive and what to expect from their teammates.
They know now how to respond to adversity. That's where last year went south. We didn't respond to adversity. We actually went backward when hit with adversity. So we've come up with new ways to build team camaraderie and brotherhood better. That will be the biggest improvement we can make from last year."
Returning Pitchers
Hall has not set his permanent weekend rotation for conference play yet. However, sophomore Jaheim Brown would undoubtedly be a candidate as the leading returner in innings pitched (69.0). He made 17 appearances with 10 starts. He posted a 7.57 ERA, recorded 51 strikeouts and walked 27 batters as a freshman. Junior Daniel Carter has two years of experience in the program.
After coming out of the bullpen as a freshman, Carter made 12 starts last season, recording 50 strikeouts, 23 walks and a 6.42 ERA. The returners in the bullpen include sophomore Jake Delisi. He posted a 4.40 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched.
Sophomore Xavier Meachem is returning from injury and should be ready to toss for the Aggies in March. Meachem struck out an impressive 37 batters in 22.2 innings pitched. Sophomore Stirling Thomas also returns after making a team-leading 29 appearances last season.
"So you learn pretty quick; pitching up high in the zone will get you beat in higher RPI leagues," said Hall. "We must improve our pitching repertoire, our velocity, our stamina and mental toughness. We are used to pitching well around here. That was an aberration last year, so we definitely worked to bring some new pitchers in to put us in a better competitive situation on the mound."
Newcomers (Pitchers)
Adding Trent Simmons could help the Aggies become more competitive on the mound. He made 16 appearances last season for Florence Darlington Tech and went 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA in 35.0 innings pitched. He posted 35 strikeouts. His fastball is in the lower 90s, and he has an aggressive slider.
Junior college transfer Connor Blantz could also make a difference on the mound. He led Harford Community College to the NJCAA World Series last season. Bantz possesses an effective breaking ball. Hall also brought in Austin Peay transfer Luke Brown. Hall called him an experienced player who plays like an experienced player. Brown had a spot in Austin Peay's weekend rotation for two seasons.
Six-foot-four Tre Williams will likely man the outfield for A&T, but he could also make some appearances out of the pen. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Evan Hart was the fall season's surprise star after recovering from an arm injury in high school. In addition, right-handed pitcher Avery Cain hopes to see action after transferring from King University along with the seven other pitching newcomers the Aggies brought in.
Newcomers/Position Players
An intriguing battle between two newcomers as to who will start at shortstop is of interest. One candidate is freshman Ivan Sierra, a Raleigh native out of Garner Magnet. The other is Devon Rodriguez, a junior college transfer out of Brunswick Community College. Neither has emerged as the overwhelming favorite.
In addition to his pitching, Williams' athleticism attends to the outfield and the batter's box. Williams was lethal last season as Florence Darlington Tech's leadoff hitter, batting .316 with seven home runs, 47 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
Luis Espinal comes to A&T by way of the University of Miami and Miami Dade College. He will likely bat in the middle of the Aggies lineup and hold down the third base position. The Aggies added another effective bat to the lineup with the addition of Michael Logan from Caldwell Tech. He can play all three outfield positions, which adds versatility to the Aggies roster. The Aggies also added five freshmen during the offseason.
"Last year was a challenge. That was the first time since my first year, second year coaching that I had to dome some soul searching and reanalyze how we do things," said Hall. "You're retooling. You're trying to prepare your program for the huge step it has to take. As big as the steps we took back in (2015 and 2016), the next two are always the harder.
To turn your program around and make it a winner is one thing. It is another thing to elevate your program to play at another level. It takes facilities, it takes synergy across the department, and within your program to make us not just a top baseball program for an HBCU but to make us an elite mid-major program across the board."
