DAVIDSON, NC – Ahead of a vital three-game Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) baseball series at home at War Memorial Stadium, North Carolina A&T made a stop at Davidson on Tuesday, surrendering a late lead to lose to the Davidson Wildcats 8-6 in a non-conference contest at Davidson College Baseball Field.
The Aggies led 5-2 going into the Davidson eighth inning before the Wildcats scored six runs, leading to the Aggies falling to 14-29 overall. The Wildcats rally prevented the Aggies from sweeping Davidson this season. After the Wildcats lost 7-5 to the Aggies at The War on April 8, Davidson improved to 20-23 on the season behind Cider Canon's two-run RBI single in the home eighth inning.
Junior right-hander Darius Robinson started the game for the Aggies, giving A&T a strong three innings; where he gave up a home run to Will Brooks in the second inning, but he also struck out three. Before Brooks' home run, the Aggies took a 1-0 lead in their second after junior Andrew Tinsley doubled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a passed ball.
The game remained tied 1-1 until freshman JT Taylor opened the fourth inning with a solo home run. It marked his team-leading 10th homer of the season. The inning kept going after junior Nick DiCarlo doubled with two outs, moving to third on a stolen base before scoring on the errant throw to throw him out going to third, giving the Aggies a 3-1 advantage.
Robinson's replacement on the mound, RHP Matt Murtagh, kept the Wildcats bats quiet, retiring the first six batters he faced. The Aggies looked to increase their lead in the visitor's sixth, putting two runners on with one out. The Wildcats turned to RHP Brycen Champey on the mound, and he secured a strikeout against freshman Savoi Edwards before getting DiCarlo to fly out to left to end the threat.
Davidson did add a run in the home sixth on an RBI sacrifice fly from Noah Jouras to cut the Aggies lead to 3-2. But senior Enrique Wood helped the Aggies respond with a solo home run in the A&T seventh. It was Wood's second homer of the season and the sixth of his career. A&T freshman RHP Mekai Griffin struck out the side in the Davidson seventh.
The Aggies added to their lead in the A&T eighth when senior Kristian Amaro hit an RBI single to left off Davidson RHP Will Banks (W, 1-0) to score Taylor, who led off the frame with a single. Amaro's single gave the Aggies a 5-2 lead going into the home eighth, where Griffin walked Canon to open the frame. Michael O'Shaughnessy followed with a two-run homer to cut the Aggies lead to 5-4.
Griffin walked Jouras, leading to the Aggies replacing Griffin with freshman RHP Taili Thompson (L, 1-2). Thompson put Chris Schuchart on by hitting with a pitch. Jouras and Schuchart performed a double steal to move into scoring position before Thompson stuck out Jack Cotrone. However, a wild pitch allowed Jouras to score and tie the game 5-5.
Jake Suarez gave the Wildcats the lead with an RBI single before JD Woodall put two runners on with a double down the left field line. Freshman LHP Cody Callahan replaced Thompson and allowed the Wildcats to load the bases by hitting Jamie Daly with a 3-2 pitch. Callahan did strike out Eli Putnam for the inning's second out. However, Canon delivered a two-run single to give the Wildcats an 8-5 lead.
The inning ended on an O'Shaughnessy flyout, leading to the A&T ninth. A&T quickly put the tying run at the plate after sophomore Jason Campo walked and freshman Bruce Wyche singled. Both runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch before Banks struck out freshman Tyler Smith. After the strikeout, the Wildcats replaced Banks with RHP Daniel Smith (S, 1).
Smith got Taylor to ground out, allowing Campo to score and cut Davidson's lead to two runs. It also led to the inning's second out. Smith struck out Tinsley to end the game. Taylor led the Aggies by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Tyler Smith went 2-for-5, and Tinsley singled, doubled, and scored a run. Canon led the Wildcats by going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Despite the loss, the Aggies are still in strong contention for qualifying for the 2025 CAA Baseball Championship Tournament. They start a three-game series against Campbell on Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m. at The War.
