EAST GREENSBORO – Last weekend the Delaware Blue Hens swept North Carolina A&T in a three-game baseball series in Newark, Del., winning two of those games by one run. But, as devastating as that was, the Aggies made it a distant memory this weekend by completing a three-game series of the William & Mary Tribe on Sunday.
The Aggies put together back-to-back big innings in the fifth and sixth to defeat the Tribe 7-3 at War Memorial Stadium to complete their first-ever Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) sweep. A&T's recovery from last weekend means they are heavily involved in the sprint toward qualifying for the CAA tournament, scheduled for May 24-27 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
The Aggies improved to 17-19 overall and 9-10 in the CAA. They are in seventh place in the standings, a half-game behind William & Mary and the Blue Hens, who are tied for fifth. William & Mary fell to 24-15 overall and 9-9 in league play. A&T's sweep of W&M and Delaware's sweep of A&T sets up an interesting dynamic between the three, as the Aggies also had two one-run wins during their sweep of the Tribe.
Sunday's game also had a one-run feel to it. Neither team scored over the first 4 ½ innings. But Aggies third baseman Cort Maynard changed all that in the home fifth with a three-run home run that looked like it landed back on A&T's campus. Maynard's had an outstanding afternoon by going 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI.
But the Tribe answered quickly in the visitor's sixth. Joe Delossantos hit a two-run single to left field to cut A&T's lead to one before Lucas Carmichael hit an RBI sacrifice fly to left field to tie the game at 3-3. But the Aggies put the game away by having another superb offensive inning in the sixth that included some clutch two-out hitting.
The frame started with W&M right-handed pitcher Tom Mayer (L, 1-2) taking over on the mound. He started his appearance by getting A&T first baseman Anthony Hennings to ground out and striking out center fielder TJ Ash. But a crucial throwing error by Tribe shortstop Luca Danos on a Michael Logan grounder kept the inning alive.
Aggies shortstop Devon Rodriguez made the Tribe pay almost instantaneously for the mistake with a double down the left field line that led to Logan sprinting from first base to home plate to recapture the lead for A&T at 4-3. Dalton then took Mayer's 0-1 pitch and hit a line drive over the right-field fence for a two-run shot that gave the Aggies a three-run lead.
It was Dalton's first homer of the season. Maynard followed with a single, but the Aggies two-out rally finally ended when designated hitter Camden Jackon popped up. Maynard added another run for the Aggies with his second home run of the day; another moon shot to left field to give the Aggies a four-run advantage.
The Aggies, coming off an excellent relief appearance on Saturday night from Trent Simmons, received another stellar bullpen outing from RHP Jake Delisi (W, 2-1). After starter and RHP Jaheim Brown went five innings, giving up one earned run, walking two and striking out five while hitting four batters, Delisi pitched the final four innings, striking out three and giving up four hits.
Logan went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and was 5-for-9 in the series with four runs scored. Second baseman Tre Williams had a 2-for-4 day for the Aggies. A&T will play a midweek game on Tuesday against Queens University of Charlotte at War Memorial Stadium starting at 6 p.m. They will then travel to Stony Brook in New York for a three-game CAA series against the Seawolves.
