GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T looked to respond after losing the first two games on the weekend against UNC Wilmington but was not able to contain the Seahawks offense on Sunday. UNCW used multiple home runs and an unfortunately long sixth inning to energize its offense in a 14-6 win against the Aggies in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) baseball action at War Memorial Stadium.
The Aggies moved to 17-10 on the young season and 2-4 in CAA conference play. UNCW improved to 17-11 overall and 6-0 in league play.
Senior right-handed pitcher Jake Delisi (L, 3-2) was given the nod for the afternoon start. He surrendered five hits and four runs in the first inning. He picked up two outs the following inning, but his day ended after UNCW's Jac Croom and John Newton hit solo home runs to give the Seahawks a 6-0 lead.
Graduate RHP Avery Cain relieved him and got Trevor Marsh to fly out to center field. The Aggies got the momentum back on their side after senior outfielder TJ Ash singled with one out in the home second inning. Junior infielder Enrique Wood was hit by a pitch, and senior infielder Devon Rodriguez singled home Ash to cut A&T's deficit to 6-1. A&T did not do further damage in the inning as UNCW escaped a bases-loaded jam. Starter and RHP Zane Taylor picked up a strikeout, and senior Michael Logan hit into a force out.
Cain returned to the mound and hit the first batter he faced. Kevin Novoblisky then hit a short fly ball to left field that Logan raced in and caught. Logan alertly fired to first base to double off Bryan Arendt to quickly put two outs on the board. The next three batters reached on a single and back-to-back walks before the Aggies called on senior RHP Connor Blantz with the bases loaded.
Blatz hit Croom to force in a run before striking out Tanner Thach to end the threat, with UNCW leading 7-1. A&T again responded with two runs in the third inning behind a single from junior catcher Canyon Brown and a walk from senior Chet Sikes. Brown scored on a throwing error after stealing third base, and Sikes scored on a single from Wood to get A&T to within four, 7-3.
The Aggies kept cutting into the Seahawks' lead. Sikes led the fifth inning off with a double, followed by Ash walking on seven pitches. The walk to Ash chased RHP Cooper Allen from the bump as UNCW replaced him with RHP Connor Mashburn.
Wood greeted him by moving the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Rodriguez did his job by driving in both runners with an RBI single to right. Now, only trailing by two runs after falling behind by six, A&T looked to complete the comeback.
They loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but a strikeout and a fly out led to three stranded runs, and UNCW maintained the lead at 7-5.
It was unfortunate because UNCW exploded during the sixth inning with seven runs on six hits. UNCW used a grand slam from Kevin Jones and a three-run home run by Thach to take a 14-5 lead. The Aggies muscled together another run in the sixth on an RBI ground out by Wood. But UNCW RHP Cole Benton (W, 2-0) entered the game in the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings.
The Aggies got good work on the mound in the last three innings from Brock Duff and Stirling Thomas. Duff pitched two scoreless innings, and Thomas struck out the side in the ninth. Sikes led the Aggies offensively, recording three doubles and three RBIs. Rodriguez drove in three runs and had two hits. Tatsunori Negishi also had two hits. Junior Shemar Dalton did keep his reaching base safely streak alive when he was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning. His streak now stands at 23 straight games.
A&T looks to bounce back on Wednesday as Gardner-Webb University comes to War Memorial Stadium in a rematch from earlier this season. Game time is 6 p.m.
