CLEMSON, SC – The North Carolina A&T Aggies put together a humungous third inning during the first day of the Clemson Invitational but could not hold off the eighth-ranked Clemson Tigers in a 12-7 loss Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Seniors Kristian Amaro and AJ Jones had two RBIs apiece, with Jones scoring twice and Amaro producing two hits, including a double, as the Aggies dropped to 2-1. Luke Gaffney had three hits for the Tigers, including a home run to improve Clemson to 4-1.
A&T's massive third inning started with a solo home run from reigning Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) rookie of the week JT Taylor, cutting Clemson's lead to 3-1.
Junior Nick DiCarlo then walked against Clemson left-handed starter Jacob McGovern. DiCarlo moved to third on two stolen bases. McGovern hit freshman Bruce Wyche with a 1-2 pitch before McGovern walked freshman Tyler Smith to load the bases for Jones.
Jones delivered with a two-run RBI single to tie the game 3-3, leading the Tigers to replace McGovern with RHP Nathan Dvorsky (W, 2-0). Dvorsky loaded the bases again for A&T by walking Taylor on five pitches. Amaro recorded the second out of the inning by grounding out to shortstop, but his groundout allowed Smith to score to give the Aggies a 4-3 lead.
Sophomore Jason Campo pushed A&T's lead to three with a two-run single to left to score Taylor and Jones. Clemson finally ended A&T's prosperous third by getting junior Andrew Tinsley to foul out.
The Aggies recorded six runs on three hits in the third, but unfortunately, the Tigers had almost an impressive half of the third.
They received an RBI single from Collin Priest, and an RBI sacrifice fly from Jack Crighton to cut A&T's lead to 6-5. A&T RHP starter Angel Ortiz (L, 1-1) walked Tristan Bissetta before striking out Andrew Ciufo. After retiring Ciufo, the Aggies replaced Ortiz with senior RHP Diego Barrett. Tryston McCladdie then loaded the bases for the Tigers with an infield single. It led to the Tigers tying the game as Barrett hit Dominic Listi with a 1-0 pitch, forcing in a run to tie the game 6-6.
Josh Paino kept the rallying going with another infield single that drove home Bissetta to give Clemson the lead. A passed ball plated McCladdie before the inning finally ended with Cam Cannarella grounding out. Clemson answered the Aggies' visitor third with a five-run, five-hit home third to take an 8-6 advantage.
A&T kept its upset bid going in the fifth inning as Amaro hit an RBI double down the right field line to score Jones, who reached base by walking to cut Clemson's lead to one. Once again, the Tigers responded in the bottom half of the frame.
McCladdie's RBI single gave the Tigers a 9-7 lead before a three-run eighth by the Tigers made things difficult for A&T as Gaffney's homer highlighted the inning. A&T put two runners on in the ninth as Lucas Mahlstedt (S, 2) hit Wyche with a 1-2 pitch and Smith earned an infield single with one out. But Mahlstedt earned back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
The Aggies continue play in the Clemson Invitational on Sunday with a 10 a.m. game against Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and a 2 p.m. game against Clemson.
