BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Northeastern Huskies got the best of North Carolina A&T in the first game of a Friday Colonial Athletic Association baseball doubleheader at Friedman Diamond. But the Aggies figured some things out and had a more competitive effort in Game 2. The Huskies, however, still swept the Aggies, 14-0 and 9-4.
The sweep slowed down some of the Aggies momentum coming into the weekend. The Aggies had won four of five before Friday but slipped to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in the CAA after the two losses. The Huskies, who lost two out of three to Elon in their first CAA three-game series, ascended above .500 in the league at 3-2. They are 12-3 overall.
A&T endured a shutout for the first time this season thanks mainly to Northeastern right-hander Wyatt Scotti (W, 5-0), who pitched seven shutout innings, giving up only two hits, one walk, and he recorded five strikeouts. Junior Cameron Brantley and sophomore Canyon Brown were the only Aggies to record hits in Game 1.
RHP Connor Blantz lasted only 1 1/3 innings for the Aggies as he dropped to 1-2 on the season. Tyler MacGregor led the Huskies by going 3-for-3 with four runs scored, two RBI and two solo home runs. The Huskies hit seven home runs in Game 1.
Game 2, however, saw the Aggies take the lead twice, starting in the third inning. Junior Camden Jackson hit a two-out single up the middle and moved to second on a balk. That led to Brown's RBI single up the middle to give A&T a 1-0 lead. The Huskies tied the game at 1 in the fourth before the Aggies reclaimed the lead in the visitor fifth.
With one out, junior Cort Maynard moved about the bases with a single, stolen base and passed ball. Jackson took full advantage of the situation with another RBI single up the middle to score Jackson for a 2-1 A&T advantage. Brown kept the inning going with a single, but the Huskies turned to Jake Gigliotti to replace RHP starter, Eric Yost. Gigliotti got Brantley to hit into a double play to end the threat.
Northeastern tied the game at 2 in the home fifth with a Matt Brinker home run. The game turned on a big four-run sixth by the Huskies as runs were scored on an RBI sacrifice fly, a bases-loaded walk a two-run RBI single by Harrison Feinberg. Trailing 6-2 going into the eighth inning, the Aggies made one last push.
Jackson, who ended Game 2 with a 3-for-4, two-runs scored, two-RBI performance, homered to open the eighth frame. Brantley hit a one-out double down the left field line before junior Anthony Hennings came through with a two-out RBI single to score Brantley, cutting the Huskies lead to 6-4. But the Huskies added three more runs in their eighth to take a five-run lead into the ninth.
The Aggies got a base runner to second in the ninth, but the game ended on a Jackson groundout. Brown and Shemar Dalton also had multiple-hit games in Game 2, with Dalton going 2-for-5 and Brown adding two hits and an RBI. Gigliotti (2-0) went 3 1/3 innings, striking out four to get the win. RHP Jake Delisi took the loss after junior righty Coley Kilpatrick started Game 2 and went five innings, striking out two and surrendering three runs.
Harrison led the Huskies in Game 2 with a 4-for-5 day, including two RBI and a run scored. The two teams conclude the weekend series at 1 p.m., Saturday at Friedman Diamond.
