Baseball | 3/24/2025 1:26:00 PM
GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T recovered from a 10-game losing streak last week by returning home to War Memorial Stadium and winning three out of five, including two Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) wins over William & Mary.
Freshman Tyler Smith played a significant role in the resurgence, earning him CAA Rookie of the Week baseball honors on Monday. Smith batted .389 (9-22) with two doubles, a home run, eight RBIs, and nine runs scored in five starts as A&T's first baseman. In addition, in 46 fielding opportunities, Smith did not make an error. In his first season with the Aggies, Smith leads the team in batting (.341) and total hits (28).
"Being a rookie in college baseball isn't easy," said A&T head coach Ben Hall. "It's a hard adjustment. I think Tyler has handled that really well over the last couple of weeks. It's no surprise he had a week worthy of some honors; it's just a matter of time. Can't wait to see what he'll do next."
A&T opened the week against UNC Greensboro to complete a three-game series that got delayed by inclement weather. He went 2-for-4 in that game before helping the Aggies snap their 10-game losing streak with an 8-2 home win over Radford on Wednesday. Smith went 2-for-3 in the contest and scored three times.
Two days later, the Aggies opened CAA play against W&M and rallied from a 7-0 deficit to win 11-8 at The War. He capped off the comeback by tying the game at 8-8 in the fourth inning with a two-run RBI single. He had his best game of the week in A&T's loss to W&M. Smith homered, drove in four runs, scored three times and posted three hits in the 13-8 defeat.
The week ended with Smith going 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. All eight of his RBIs for the week came against W&M. Smith joins senior right-handed pitcher Angel Ortiz as the only two Aggies to garner weekly honors thus far. Ortiz earned co-pitcher honors on March 3.
A&T travels to Rock Hill, SC on Tuesday to face the Winthrop Eagles in a 6 p.m. midweek game at Winthrop Ballpark. A&T goes on the road this weekend in CAA play, facing the UNC Wilmington Seahawks in a three-game series starting Friday, March 28 at 6 p.m.
