GREENSBORO, NC – North Carolina A&T head baseball coach Ben Hall told his team entering the game against Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) rival William & Mary that conference season is a new season. Everyone is 0-0.
Based on Friday's outcome, he may have also told them it is a new game after the visitor's second inning. The Aggies rallied from a seven-run deficit, outscoring the Tribe 11-1 after the top of the second, to win 11-8 at War Memorial Stadium.
The Aggies are in Year 3 as a member of the CAA. They have won all three CAA season openers, but none have been quite as dramatic as Friday's victory. A&T improved to 5-14 overall and 1-0 conference play behind senior AJ Jones' two extra-base hits and three runs scored. The Tribe dropped to 6-16 overall and 0-1 in league play.
"Nothing that happened before matters, especially if it is negative, because it's all a part of your story. You're trying to get better," said Hall. "This team is young and new, and we're trying to get better every week."
W&M took a 7-0 lead off A&T senior right-handed starter Angel Ortiz. But Ortiz actually recovered and gave the Aggies some quality innings, including a three up, three down fifth inning before he left the game without being burdened with the loss because when he departed, the Aggies had already rallied to tie the game 8-8.
A&T got one run back in the second inning. Enrique Wood capitalized on a Jones leadoff double with an RBI single to center field. The frame ended with a double play, but the Aggies were far from done. After W&M added another run in the visitor's fourth to take an 8-1 lead, the Aggies rallied against W&M starter and LHP Nick Lottchea in the home fourth.
A&T put Lottchea in a bases-loaded situation. Lottchea responded by walking freshman outfielder Savoi Edwards after an 11-pitch battle between the two. It forced in a run from third as freshman Tyler Smith scored, cutting the Tribe's lead to 8-2.
RHP Carter Lovasz (L, 1-3) replaced Lottchea on the mound but did not fare better. Lovasz walked Wood on eight pitches, forcing in a run from freshman JT Taylor. Lovasz compiled strikeouts against the next two A&T batters before a 10-pitch battle between Lovasz and junior Nick DiCarlo ensued, with Lovasz walking DiCarlo to plate another A&T run as Jones scored.
When freshman Bruce Wyche came to the plate, the Aggies finally got an RBI hit instead of an RBI walk as Wyche's single to left field drove in two more A&T runs, bringing the Aggies to within two at 8-6. Smith tied the game 8-8 with a two-run RBI double before Taylor struck out to finally end the rally.
"Baseball is the greatest game because you have to throw the ball over the plate, and you've got to hit it," said Jones. "There's no clock. You have to go out there and keep competing. We just stuck to the plan we were given by the coaches. We executed it and never let our foot off the gas pedal."
The Aggies accelerated again in the fifth inning because Jones led off the frame with a triple before Edwards scored him with an infield single. DiCarlo found himself on third in the sixth after reaching on an error and stealing second and third base. Smith followed with a groundball. The throw home to get DiCarlo was late, allowing Smith to reach second and DiCarlo to give the Aggies their first lead at 9-8.
After Smith advanced to third on a passed ball, Taylor brought him home with a two-out RBI single, giving the Aggies a two-run lead.
A&T put the game on the arm of senior RHP Jacob Halford (W, 1-3) from there. The Northern Guilford graduate pitched four innings of scoreless baseball, striking out five and giving up only three hits. After retiring the first two batters in the W&M ninth, he gave up a single to Lucas Carmichael. But he got Derek Holmes to ground out to shortstop to end the game. Holmes came to the plate with four RBIs before the groundout.
"Coming back today was a huge development for us to fight through that and not give up in a game like that," said Hall. "That's what you have to do in college baseball because sometimes you have to win games like that."
The Aggies and the Tribe play again on Saturday at 2 p.m. from The War.
