GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T used a high-powered offense and a high-powered arm to defeat the Eastern Illinois Panthers 10-3 in the first game of a doubleheader at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday. In a scheduled seven-inning game, the Aggies received a game-tying two-run homer from senior TJ Ash and a walk-off single from Ash to defeat the Panthers 4-3 in eighth innings. A&T improved to 8-2 overall, including a 5-1 record at #TheWar.
A&T's Game 1 starter, right-hander Coley Kilpatrick (W, 1-0), had it going on the mound. He posted a career-high seven strikeouts over six scoreless innings pitched. The only hit he allowed came in the sixth inning, an infield hit that Eli Hill barely beat out. Kilpatrick did walk three but lowered his ERA to 1.20 on the season.
Kilpatrick received some early offense from his teammates as a single and a throwing error put junior Tre Williams on second, leading to an RBI single from graduate first baseman Tatsunori Negishi. Negishi advanced to second on the throwout attempt to get Williams racing toward home plate. Negishi's hustle led to an RBI single from junior Chet Sikes to give the Aggies a 2-0 advantage.
A&T added a run in the third off an RBI sacrifice fly from Williams. They added another run in the fourth thanks to an RBI double from Ash, pushing the Aggies advantage to 4-0. They put up a four-spot in the fifth to break the game open as Williams and Negishi hit one-out singles, and junior catcher Canyon Brown walked to load the bases.
EIU RHP and starter Tyler Conklin (L, 0-2) then forced home Williams with a bases-loaded walk to Sikes. Conklin followed by unleashing a wild pitch, allowing Negishi to score. Senior Camden Jackson followed with the brutal blow, a two-run single to center to score Sikes and Brown for an 8-0 A&T lead.
A&T added two more runs for good measure in the sixth off a two-run single from junior Shemar Dalton that scored Isaiah Monge, who was hit by a pitch, and Enrique Wood, who doubled. The Panthers did add three in the seventh, but it was not enough to withstand the Aggies, who matched a season-high with 14 hits. A&T's Game 1 also included three doubles, two by Wood and the other by Ash. Negishi went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Williams posted a 3-for-4 Game 1 with two runs scored and an RBI. Sikes, Dalton and Jackson drove in two runs each.
Offense was more challenging for the Aggies early in Game 2. EIU starter and LHP Eli Cartwright did not last long after the Aggies mounted a threat in the first inning. Dalton doubled, Williams walked and a throwing error on a Negishi bunt loaded the bases with no outs. EIU RHP Jonathan Hanscom not only got the Panthers out of the inning with only one run scoring on a wild pitch, but he also pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball, assisting in the Panthers clinging to a 3-1 lead going into the home sixth.
EIU RHP Colton Coca did not pitch poorly in relief for the Panthers, either. He pitched three scoreless innings before he met Ash. Ash took Coca's 2-2 pitch and sailed it over the right-field wall for a two-run home run to tie the game at 3-3 going into the seventh.
The Aggies turned to RHP Angel Ortiz (W, 1-0) after RHP Jake Delisi, who took over for starter and right-hander Diego Barrett in the fifth, walked Dylan Drumke and gave up a bunt single to Trenton Pallas to open the frame. Brown then took over the inning defensively from his catcher's position.
He picked off Drumke at second before throwing out Quade Peters at first with an excellent throw after Peters nearly reached on a bunt attempt. After back-to-back walks, Ortiz settled in and struck out Mike O'Connor to end the Panthers' threat.
It also looked like, for a moment, Brown would serve as the offensive hero as a bullet off his bat flew through the evening skies in East Greensboro and landed in right-center for a double. Negishi, who had a two-out single, tried to score from first but was thrown out at the plate, leading to extra innings.
Ortiz pitched a perfect eighth before EIU turned to RHP Zane Robbins (L, 1-1) to pitch the home eighth. Robbins walked the first two batters he faced, Sikes and Jackson, before giving up a bunt single to Wood. LHP Jack Potteiger replaced Robbins only to have Ash beam a line drive off his shoulder, ricocheting the ball to short where Chris Worcester had no time to make a play anywhere as Sikes scored the winning run.
Delisi and Ortiz combined to pitch four innings of scoreless relief, giving up only one hit. The Aggies recorded nine strikeouts, led by Barrett's four. Ortiz had three and Delisi registered two. In addition to Ash's big night at the plate, Negishi had two hits and went a combined 5-for-8 on the day.
The two teams wrap up the series on Sunday at noon from War Memorial Stadium.
