EAST GREENSBORO – It took nine pitchers and 18 hits, but the North Carolina A&T finally got the job done with the 18th hit. Junior second baseman Devon Rodriguez hit a walk-off infield single in the 11th to lead the Aggies to a 12-11 win over the High Point University (HPU) Panthers Wednesday night at War Memorial Stadium.
RHP Cain Avery (W, 1-0) entered the game in the 11th for A&T. Avery sat down the Panthers to move the game into the home 11th. To start the 11th, RHP Patrick Libby (L, 1-2) came on to pitch for the Panthers. Third baseman Cort Maynard greeted him with a leadoff double, but the next two Aggies were retired by Libby, including a flyout by catcher Canyon Brown.
But Brown's flyout proved significant because it moved Maynard 90 feet away from winning the game. Libby then took Rodriguez to a 3-0 count before Rodriguez took a strike. On the next pitch, Rodriguez hit a chopper to shortstop. Brayden Simpson had to wait on the bounce to avoid a bad hop.
The hesitation helped a sliding Rodriguez beat the throw at first, allowing Maynard to score to ignite the celebration. The win improved the Aggies to 14-15 on the season and 10-8 at War Memorial Stadium. The Panthers had their 11-game winning streak over the Aggies end as they dropped to 10-23 on the season.
A&T's last win over the Panthers came on March 19, 2014, a 7-6 win in 10 innings.
Before Rodriguez came through for the Aggies in the 11th, the Aggies had to first rally in the ninth. The Aggies went into the home ninth trailing 11-7. Center fielder TJ Ash ignited the comeback effort by singling through the right side. Ash advanced to second on a wild pitch ahead of first baseman Anthony Hennings singling to put Aggies at the corners with one out. Hennings ended the game by going 3-for-6 with two runs scored.
Left fielder, Michael Logan then recorded A&T's third straight single as his RBI single through the left side scored Ash and moved Hennings to second. Next, HPU turned to its fourth pitcher of the night as right-hander Connor Smith replaced RHP Howell Polk. A&T also substituted as Nick Lundquist came to the plate as a pinch-hitter.
The A&T substitution won out as Lindquist doubled to left center to score Logan and Hennings to cut the Panthers lead to one, 11-10. Right fielder Shemar Dalton followed Lindquist's extra-base hit with an extra-base hit as he tied the game with an RBI double to left center to score Lindquist.
RHP Dalton Williams replaced Smith on the mound. He intentionally walked Maynard to put runners at first and second, giving the Panthers an opportunity to turn a double play to end the inning. Instead, Camden Jackson, who went 4-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI, recorded an infield single to load the bases with one out.
But with the winning run 90 feet away, Williams settled in and got Brown to pop out and Rodriguez to strike out swinging to end the A&T threat and send the game into extra innings tied at 11.
RHP Justin Poris retired the Panthers in order in the 10th to give the Aggies another chance to win the game in the home half of the 10th as Hennings moved into scoring position with one out as he reached on a bunt single and moved to second on a throwing error on the play. But an intentional walk to Logan was followed by a popout and a groundout to send the game into the 11th.
Maynard had a 2-for-5 day for the Aggies with two runs scored, and Dalton drove in two runs and had two hits, including a double. Brett Ahalt went 3-for-6 with two runs scored. The Aggies took a 4-1 lead after the first two innings on Wednesday. HPU had a five-run third to take a 6-4 lead.
The Aggies got a run back in their third before HPU took an 8-5 lead going into the home fifth, where they scored a run to cut the lead to two. The Panthers scored three unanswered runs to take an 11-6 lead before the Aggies scored the next five to send the game into extra innings.
A&T has a three-game Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) series starting Friday at 4 p.m. against the Delaware Blue Hens in Newark, Del.
