WILMINGTON, NC – Senior right-hander Jacob Halford had about as an incredible outing as a relief pitcher can have, and the North Carolina A&T Aggies used an RBI single up the middle as an insurance run in the 16th inning to defeat the UNC Wilmington Seahawks 4-3 in 16 innings in a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) baseball contest at Brooks Field on Saturday.
The marathon win improves A&T to 8-16 overall and 4-1 in CAA action, which keeps the Aggies in a first-place tie with Northeastern atop the CAA standings. UNCW, who also received a masterful relief performance from RHP Trace Baker (5.1 innings, 1R, 1H, 2BB, 7Ks), dropped to 13-14 overall and 1-4 in league play.
The two teams entered the 16th inning tied at 2-2. UNCW placed RHP Bromley Thornton (L, 0-1) on the mound to open the frame. Freshman Tyler Smith opened with a double that got the Aggies dugout pumped up along with Smith, who celebrated while standing at second.
Freshman JT Taylor laid down a bunt that UNCW first baseman Tanner Thach fielded. However, his throw went wide, allowing Taylor to reach second and Smith to score to give the Aggies a 3-2 lead. Thorton walked senior AJ Jones on four pitches, leading RHP Bryan Arendt, who is listed as a catcher on the roster, to enter the game.
Freshman Savoi Edwards hit a fly ball to center field off Arendt that dropped in front of BJ Brown for a single. The runners were held up, waiting for the ball to drop, leading to the Aggies loading the bases. After back-to-back strikeouts, senior Enrique Wood hit a groundball up the middle that second baseman Dylan Schaefer fielded but had no time to make a play. The RBI single allowed Taylor to score to give the Aggies an insurance run.
A&T needed it because the Seahawks started the home 16th with a home run by Cole Nelson off RHP Darius Robinson (W, 2-0) to cut the Aggies lead to 4-3. After Mac Gillespie grounded out to put the Aggies two outs away from the win, an error at shortstop made things dicey again.
The Aggies intentionally walked Thach and replaced Robinson with freshman RHP Braxton Davis (S, 1). Davis started his outing by striking out Alec DeMartino for the inning's second out. But a walk to pinch-hitter Kevin Novobilsky loaded the bases, putting the winning run at second base. But Davis threw a beautiful changeup to strike out pinch-hitter Ryker Galaska looking to end a game that lasted five hours and nine minutes.
Smith, the reigning CAA rookie of the week, went 3-for-6 on Saturday, with the game-tying RBI that led to the game going into extra innings.
UNCW took a 1-0 lead in the second inning off starter and junior RHP Matt Murtagh. The two teams placed zeros on the scoreboard over the next innings A&T entered the ninth against LHP Cyle Phelan, who opened the frame by walking freshman Bruce Wyche. Wyche scored to tie the game 1-1 thanks to Smith's RBI double, his 16th of the season.
A sac bunt from Taylor put the go-ahead run 90 feet away before a strikeout and a groundout sent the game into the bottom of the ninth inning. That is when Halford entered the game and went on a shutdown mission. He threw six scoreless innings, giving up one hit and a walk while striking out four. A&T almost rewarded Halford with the win, scoring in the visitor's 15th on a wild pitch that allowed pinch runner Nigel Robinson to give the Aggies a 2-1 lead.
But the Seahawks got a run off Robinson in the home 15th thanks to an RBI single from Kevin Jones to tie the game 2-2, which set up the game-deciding 16th.
The Aggies secured their first series win over UNCW since joining the CAA three seasons ago. They will go for the series sweep on Sunday when the two teams face each other at Brooks Field at 2 p.m.
