GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T left three men on base in the bottom of the ninth, losing a heart-wrenching rubber game to the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Huskies 6-5 Monday evening at War Memorial Stadium in non-conference baseball.

NIU took two of three from the Aggies despite the Aggies making another late-inning charge. On Saturday, the Aggies scored nine runs over the game's final three innings to secure a 10-3 win over the Huskies.

On Monday, the Aggies' bats blazed in the ninth inning. NIU went into the frame leading 6-3. NIU left-hander pitcher Gavin Micklinghoff replaced RHP Blake Gaskey (W, 1-0) to open the A&T ninth. Sophomore Savoi Edwards greeted him with a single to left field. Micklinghoff then walked sophomore Boaz Walker on four pitches before striking out freshman Luis Acevedo.

Micklinghoff could not survive senior Nick DiCarlo, who singled to shallow right field to score Edwards to cut the Huskies' lead to two. Walker moved to third base on the single, setting up Reginald Tuggle III's RBI single that scored Walker to bring the Aggies to within one at 6-5. RHP Nick Bassi (S, 1) replaced Micklinghoff on the mound after Tuggle's base hit.

The pitching change did not change the Aggies' momentum. Bassi hit junior Marcus Bradshaw with a 1-0 pitch to load the bases with one out. But sophomore JT Taylor lined out to left, and sophomore Tyler Smith grounded out to end the game. Smith led the Aggies by going 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored.

It was Smith who helped the Aggies rally from an early 3-0 deficit going into the home third. After LHP Max Vaisvila, NIU's starter on Monday, retired the first two Aggies he faced in the third. Taylor kept the inning alive with a single before Smith launched a two-run homer to center field to bring the Aggies to within one at 3-2. In the fifth, Smith helped the Aggies tie the game.

Vaisvila walked Bradshaw with one out before giving a single to Taylor. Smith followed with an RBI double to left to score Bradshaw to tie the game at 3-3. However, the Huskies increased their lead to three again thanks to a two-run home run from Cole Smith in the sixth off LHP reliever James Van Meter (L, 0-1). Cole Smith added an RBI double in the visitor's eighth.

Cole Smith led the Huskes with a 3-for-5 evening that included two runs scored and three RBIs. Taylor had a 2-for-4 day for A&T with a run scored. Graduate RHP Angel Ortiz got the start for the Aggies and pitched two innings, throwing only 30 pitches.

The Aggies will stay close to home for their next contest. They will play the first of three games against their Gate City Division I rivals, the UNC Greensboro Spartans, on Wednesday, February 18, at UNCG Stadium. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.