CHAPEL HILL, NC – Another day, another top 10 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team, the North Carolina A&T baseball team, took into the late innings with a chance to get an upset. On Wednesday, it was the University of North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels at Boshamer Stadium.
The fifth-ranked Heels needed a seven-run eighth to finally pull away from the Aggies for a 13-4 win.
A&T played No. 8 Clemson twice over the weekend at the Clemson Invitational before facing the Heels in a game originally scheduled for Nov. 18 before snow hit the state last week. Despite getting a three-run home run from sophomore Jason Campo, the Aggies dropped to 2-4 overall.
UNC took a 2-0 lead over the first two innings against A&T junior right-handed starter Evan Hart. But for the third time this season, the Aggies were able to take the lead over a top 10 nationally-ranked team.
It occurred in the visitor's third on Wednesday. Junior Nick DiCarlo opened the frame with a single off UNC LHP starter Kyle Percival. DiCarlo swiped second to set up freshman Tyler Smith's RBI single up the middle to cut the Heels lead to 2-1. Freshman Bruce Wyche put two Aggies on with another single.
Percival got senior AJ Jones to fly out to right field before being replaced on the mound by LHP Folger Boaz. After three pitches, Campo took Boaz's 2-1 offer over the wall to give the Aggies a 4-2 lead. Boaz got junior Andrew Tinsley to ground out before striking out sophomore Ellis Reid to end A&T's threat.
Even after the Heels added a run in the fourth, the Aggies carried a 4-3 into the fifth inning. After Boaz opened the fourth by hitting Jones with a 2-2 pitch, the Heels turned to RHP Cameron Padgett (W, 1-0).
Padgett walked Campo before getting a pop-out and a ground out to end A&T's rally. The Heels reclaimed the lead for good in the fifth before their big eighth inning. Perry Hargett tied the game at 4 with an RBI single off RHP Sean Duke (L, 0-1) before Gavin Gallaher delivered the big blow with a two-run homer to give the Heels a 6-4 lead.
Padgett pitched four scoreless innings for the Tar Heels to keep A&T's offense, striking out three. Padgett kept the Aggies in check before Luke Stevenson hit a two-run homer in the eighth, followed by a three-run shot from Perry Hargett. Hargett and Gallaher had three RBIs as the Heels improved to 9-0.
Smith and Wyche had two hits for A&T, who will begin preparation for a three-game home series against Marist, starting with a 4 p.m. game on Friday at War Memorial Stadium. The Aggies will face Marist at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
