WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary Tribe came into the game after upsetting nationally-ranked Duke University. North Carolina A&T Aggies baseball came into the game trying to halt a 1-7 skid. Yet, the Aggies used two doubles from senior outfielder TJ Ash and the return of senior infielder Tre Williams to persevere and defeat the Tribe 8-4 Friday night at Plumeri Park.
Williams returned to the Aggies lineup on Tuesday after missing 20 games with an injury. He went 0-for-2, but on Friday, Williams returned to form, recording three hits in five at-bats. He also scored twice to help the Aggies improve to 19-14 overall and 4-6 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) action. The Tribe dropped to 23-11 overall and 6-4 in league play.
A&T got off to an outstanding start against Tribe right-handed starter Alex Markus (L, 1-3) after Markus retired the first two Aggies he faced in the first inning. He walked graduate infielder Tatsunori Negishi before surrendering a single to Williams. Junior Canyon Brown loaded the bases with a walk, leading to Ash's two-run RBI double down the left field line to score Negishi and Williams for a 2-0 A&T lead.
The Aggies turned things over to RHP Coley Kilpatrick (W, 5-1), who got himself out of a first-inning jam without giving up a run after surrendering a leadoff double. W&M also put a runner in scoring position in the second after a leadoff walk and a wild pitch.
Ash returned in the Aggies third and provided a two-out RBI double that scored Brown, who walked. The Tribe responded in its half of the third with a two-out rally. With runners on third and second, Henry Jackson hit a two-run single off Kilpatrick, cutting A&T's lead to 3-2. It stayed that way until the Aggies produced a four-run, three-hit fifth inning.
W&M RHP Reed Interdonato aided the Aggies by hitting Negishi with a 1-0 pitch. Williams' single moved Negishi to third before Brown reached base on another hit-by-pitch to load the bases. The Aggies, who lead the CAA and rank 13th nationally in sacrifice flies, received an additional one from Ash to score Negishi.
Logan followed by providing an RBI double to score Williams. An error on the play allowed Brown to score to put the Aggies ahead 6-2. After Logan stole third, a Devon Rodriguez infield single brought him home to extend A&T's lead to five runs.
In the sixth inning, W&M scored on an RBI ground out from Trey Christman and an RBI double from Josiah Seguin to cut A&T's lead to 7-4. The double led to A&T replacing Kilpatrick with graduate RHP Avery Cain. Cain opened his outing by hitting Lucas Carmichael with a 2-2 pitch. He recovered to strike out Ben Parker before Joe Delossantos popped out to end the threat.
A&T added another run in the seventh on a wild pitch before Cain pitched solid seventh and eighth innings. He gave way to junior RHP Angel Ortiz in the ninth inning. Ortiz pitched a perfect ninth, striking out Jackson to end the game. Ash had a spectacular game, going 3-for-4 with his two doubles and four RBIs. Logan and Rodriguez had two-hit ballgames with a run and an RBI apiece.
W&M and A&T will play Game 2 of the series Saturday at 3 p.m.
