GREENSBORO – Junior Camden Jackson broke out of a 1-for-16 slump, and the North Carolina A&T baseball team continued its stellar play in a 9-4 win over the UNC Greensboro Spartans Tuesday night at UNCG Baseball Stadium. Jackson went 4-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, and the Aggies won for the fourth time in five games to improve to 9-7 on the season.
The Aggies had to rally to win on Tuesday. They trailed to 4-1 going into the sixth inning when Jackson led off the frame with a Jackson single to right center field. Sophomore Canyon Brown followed with another single before Cameran Brantley struck out for the first out of the inning. Junior Luis Espinal's fly out to right advanced Jackson to third, and Brown stole second to put runners in scoring position at second and third.
Junior Anthony Hennings then came away with a clutch two-out hit with a two-run single to center to cut UNCG's lead to 4-3. The Aggies took the lead for good in the seventh as junior Shemar Dalton hit a one-out double to right field. Cort Maynard's bunt single put runners on the corners for A&T, setting up Jackson's RBI single to right center to tie the game at 4.
After a flyout by Brown, Brantley recorded the biggest blow of the inning, blasting a three-run home run to right center to give the Aggies a 7-4 lead. The Aggies kept the late offensive outburst going as Hennings walked and moved to second on a TJ Ash sacrifice bunt. Then, sophomore Sabin Roane reached on an error, putting runners on first and third.
Dalton brought Hennings home on an RBI sac fly before Roane stole second to put another A&T runner in scoring position. Another Jackson RBI followed a Maynard infield single as he singled to center to score Roane for a 9-4 Aggies lead. Brown walked to put runners at first and second before Brantley ended the rally with a flyout to left.
UNCG made one last push in the home ninth. Junior right-handed pitcher Justin Poris took the mound for A&T and walked Zack Budzik. Budzik moved to second on a wild pitch before a single to right center by Mitchell Smith put Spartans at first and third with no one outs. But Poris settled in and put together back-to-back strikeouts to leave the Aggies one out shy of knocking off their crosstown rivals.
Caleb Cozart kept the inning alive with a walk to load the bases, but Poris earned his third strikeout when he fanned Rowan Watt to end the game. Poris added to the Aggies outstanding relief efforts on Tuesday. Right-handers Ethan Snyder, Evan Hart (W, 2-0), Jake Delisi and Poris combined to shut out the Spartans over the game's final five innings. They posted six strikeouts in the process.
LHP Daniel Carter got the start and went three innings, surrendering one earned run and striking out two. Maynard had a 3-for-4 for day with two runs scored, and Hennings went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Brown also had a multiple-hit day with two hits, an RBI and a run scored.
Smith went 4-for-5 with an RBI for the Spartans. The Aggies, who had gone four years without a win over the Spartans going into the 2022 season, have now won two of three in the yearly rivalry. This weekend, they travel to Northeastern for a three-game Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) series in Boston.
