GREENSBORO – The North Carolina A&T baseball team secured the series win over the Northeastern Huskies on Friday by sweeping a doubleheader at War Memorial Stadium. However, the Aggies could not complete the series sweep on Saturday as the Huskies defeated A&T 13-3 in Coastal Athletic Association conference play at #TheWar.
After getting back to .500 on Friday with the doubleheader sweep, the Aggies dropped to 23-24 overall and 7-14 success at A&T. Northeaster's Tyler MacGregor hit two home runs as the Huskies improved to 32-13 overall and 14-7 in league play.
Saturday's game started eerily like the first game of Friday's doubleheader, where the Huskies belted two home runs in the first inning. On Friday, the Huskies hit a two-run homer and a solo shot to take a 3-0 lead in the first before the Aggies rallied to win 13-5. Saturday, the Huskies hit two two-run home runs off right-handed starter Jake Delisi (L, 3-5). But the Aggies did not recover on Saturday.
Northeastern gradually added to its lead on Saturday, taking a 10-0 lead before the Aggies recorded their first hit in the home fifth on a Michael Logan base hit to left field off Northeastern right-handed starter Wyatt Scotti (W, 7-4). Freshman Ellis Reid added another hit in the inning before a flyout ended the A&T threat.
A&T removed Scotti's shutout hopes in the sixth as junior catcher Canyon Brown hit a one-out double down the left field line. It led to senior TJ Ash delivering an RBI single to center field to place the Aggies first run on the scoreboard. Ash advanced to second on a throwing error during the play, setting up senior Camden Jackson's RBI single to cut Northeastern's lead to 10-2. A strikeout and a groundout ended the A&T rally.
The Aggies added another run in the eighth, loading the bases with singles from Tre Williams and Ash and a hit-by-pitch absorbed by Jackson. Logan stepped to the plate and lifted the first pitch he saw into center field to score Williams on an RBI sacrifice fly. But MacGregor hit a three-run homer in the ninth to put an exclamation point on the Huskies' win.
Ash and Reid had two-hit games for A&T. The Aggies return to action on Wednesday in a return game against national championship contender Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons will host A&T at David F. Couch Ballpark, with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
