TOWSON, Md. – Towson's Brian Heckelman hit an RBI double and had a solo home run as the North Carolina A&T lost a disappointing 2-1 game to the Tigers on Saturday at Schuerholz Park in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) baseball action.
After winning Game 1 of the CAA series on Thursday with a seven-run fifth inning, the Aggies dropped to 26-28 overall and 9-17 in conference play after leaving eight runners on base. Heckelman's big afternoon helped Towson improve to 15-39 overall and 5-20 in league play.
Right-handed starter Angel Ortiz (L, 3-4) got his fifth start of the season. He pitched 6.2 innings, surrendering the two RBIs to Heckelman, seven hits, and two walks while striking out four. Ortiz has gone six-plus innings in two out of his last three starts.
After putting down the Tigers in order in the first inning, Ortiz gave up a one-out single to Cole Stefano before Heckleman's double brought Stefano home for a 1-0 lead. Towson's rally continued in the inning when Ortiz hit Jeremy Wagner with a pitch. But Casey Bishop flew out to right field, and Ryan Williamson struck out to end the threat.
Bishop's flyout started a string of seven straight batters Ortiz retired before Heckleman stepped to the plate with two outs in the Towson fourth inning to hit a solo home run to left for a 2-0 Tigers lead. Ortiz struck out Wagner to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Ortiz's counterpart, Towson left-handed starter Matt Lynch (W, 1-0), had his pitches working against A&T after a difficult first inning in which he surrendered a single up the middle to junior catcher Canyon Brown and a single through the left side by senior outfielder TJ Ash. But Lynch escaped the inning without any further damage by getting senior Camden Jackson to ground out to shortstop.
Lynch only gave up two more hits after the first inning, a single to senior Devon Rodriguez in the second and a single to senior Tre Williams in the third, before his outing ended after five innings with him tossing 70 pitches, striking out three, giving up four hits and walking zero.
After the Aggies fifth, Towson mounted a rally against Ortiz, putting runners on first and second before Bryce Frederick flew out to center to end the inning. The Aggies opened the visitor's sixth against RHP Justin Rebok. Rebok walked graduate first baseman Tatsunori Negishi before Brown doubled with one out to put Aggies on third and second. Ash walked to load the bases for A&T.
Jackson responded by hitting a fly ball to left field. Elijah Dickerson made the catch, leading to Negishi tagging and scoring on the play to put the Aggies on the board, cutting Towson's lead to 2-1. A strikeout, however, ended the threat to keep Towson in the lead. Ortiz's outing ended in the seventh inning after Dickerson reached on an error and Jordan Peyton singled.
Senior RHP Connor Blantz entered the game with two outs and got Frederick to hit into a force play to end the frame. In the eighth, the Aggies put two runners on against LHP Tyler Russo after Russo hit Brown with a 1-0 pitch and surrendered a single to Ash with one out. But Ash was picked off at first, and Jackson grounded out to keep Towson ahead.
Blantz pitched his way out of a jam in the home eighth before RHP Luis Rivera (S, 2) opened the Aggies ninth by striking out senior outfielder Michael Logan. But Rodriguez and senior pinch-hitter Chet Sikes singled to put the go-ahead run at first base. But junior infielder Enrique Wood hit into a double play to end the game.
Both teams will play their respective regular-season finales on Saturday at 1 p.m. because they have been eliminated from CAA tournament consideration. Brown, Ash, and Rodriguez had two hits apiece for A&T, and Stefano and Peyton had three hits apiece for Towson.
