VERO BEACH, Fla. – The North Carolina A&T baseball team completed the Andre Dawson Classic with a 14-5 win over the Grambling State Tigers Sunday morning at Holman Stadium. The Aggies went 2-1 over the weekend against other HBCU competition, with wins over Southern and Grambling and a close loss to Prairie View A&M. The Aggies are 6-1 on the season.
On Sunday, the Aggies dominated from start to finish. A&T also received solid pitching from sophomore right-hand pitcher Evan Hart (W, 1-0). He did the job by going five innings, surrendering one run on four hits while striking out six. He received help as early as the first inning. Junior outfielder Shemar Dalton doubled in the first and later came home on an RBI double from graduate first baseman Tatsunori Negishi.
A&T took control of the game in the third with a six-run outburst as 11 Aggies made trips to the plate, starting with Dalton, who led off the offensive efficiency with a base hit and was followed by senior second baseman Tre Williams lasering a ball past first base for another single. Negishi walked to load the bases, and Grambling State's starting pitcher Phillip Bryant (L, 0-1) hit the next two batters, allowing two runs to score.
Senior center fielder TJ Ash reached on an error, scoring two more runs and giving the Aggies a 5-0 advantage. Bryant hit another batter and gave up a sacrifice fly to junior shortstop Enrique Wood. Another wild pitch in the inning allowed the sixth A&T run to score, pushing the Aggie lead to a commanding 7-0.
The Tigers did score a run in the fifth and brought in RHP Brett Washington to keep the game close. He pitched his first two innings without allowing a hit, but the Aggies offense revved up again in the sixth, starting with Dalton. Again.
Dalton doubled, and with one out, Negishi slashed a single through the right side to score Dalton. Junior catcher Canyon Brown added to the hit parade with a single, advancing Negishi to third. Sikes walked to load the bases, leading to Ash's RBI sac fly, scored Negishi, giving A&T a 9-1 lead. Senior outfielder Michael Logan delivered a two-out, two-run single to score Brown and Sikes.
Grambling showed resilience during the seventh, stringing together a few well-placed singles off of Aggies sophomore RHP Darius Robinson, aiding in the Tigers scoring three runs during the frame. But A&T's offense was relentless on Sunday.
Wood opened the seventh with a triple against the Tigers pitcher Charles Jackson. Dalton grounded out to first base, collecting an RBI to balloon the Aggies lead to 12-4. An infield single by Williams kept the rally going, and a wild pitch moved Williams into scoring position for Negishi, who hit a scorching opposite-field RBI double to score Williams.
Both teams scored runs in the eighth as A&T scored on a throwing error. Righties Justin Poris and Brock Duff pitched the last two innings for A&T. Neither surrendered a hit, but Poris did give up a run on three walks while striking out two. Duff also had two strikeouts, and RHP Isaiah Brewington received work in the sixth inning, giving up one hit and no runs.
Dalton led the Aggies offensively, going 3-for-5 with three runs and an RBI. Negishi drove in three runs on three hits and scored twice. Williams had two hits and two runs scored. The Aggies are back in action on Tuesday when they host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, the preseason No. 1 team in the nation. The game is scheduled to start at 4 P.M.
