GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T baseball tried to salvage one game in its three-game series against the Akron Zips after losing both games of a doubleheader on Saturday at War Memorial Stadium.
Things looked as if they were headed in that direction on Sunday at The War before the Zips rallied in the visitors' eighth inning with four runs, eventually beating the Aggies 5-4 to complete the three-game sweep. A&T is off to a 2-9 start after the weekend action, while the Zips improved to 6-6.
A&T managed only four hits, but they manufactured runs throughout and got a quality start from right-handed pitcher Angel Ortiz and an even more impressive relief appearance from sophomore LHP James Van Meter. Ortiz went the first four innings, giving up only two hits and one run while walking three and striking out three. Van Meter replaced him to open the top of the fifth and pitched three solid innings, giving up two hits and one run while walking two and striking out two.
In the meantime, the Aggies built their lead. They started by taking advantage of the lack of control from Akron starter Cy Herchelroath, a left-hander out of Elizabeth, Pa. Herchelroath walked the bases loaded before the Aggies made a gutsy call. The Aggies gave the signal for sophomore Reginald Tuggle III to steal home.
Herchelroath's pitch was high, and it fell out of the glove of catcher Gio Melchione as Tuggle barreled toward home plate. Tuggle slid in safely headfirst to tie the game 1-1. Junor Jason Campo then scored on a Herchelroath's wild pitch to give the Aggies a 2-1 advantage. A&T increased its lead in the fourth thanks to a two-out rally that started with a Caleb Beals walk.
Beals then moved to second on a Campo single, setting up freshman Samuel Schawmb's RBI single through the right side that ended Herchelroath's day and gave the Aggies a 3-1 advantage as Campo moved to third on the play. LHP Trieg Matthews (W, 1-0) replaced Herchelroath and eventually allowed the Aggies to manufacture another one when his pickoff throw attempt went wide and got away from Akron first baseman Easton Amundson, allowing Campo to score.
Van Meter went to work from there. He had a pretty easy fifth before retiring the Zips in order in the sixth. He faced a bases-loaded situation with one out in the seventh. But he struck out, Blake Bown, the Zips' No. 2 hitter in the lineup, and got one of Akron's top RBI men, Brennan Morgan, to ground out to get out of the jam. Van Meter opened the top of the eighth by hitting Amundson with a 0-1 pitch.
The Aggies turned to freshman RHP Josh Hauser (L, 0-1), who gave up a single to pinch-hitter Gabe Mathison to put runners at first and second for Kyle McConachie, whose fly ball to center field bounced just in front of a diving Nick DiCarlo, bouncing over his glove for an RBI double to cut A&T's lead to 4-2.
Hauser struck out Austin Lafferty for the first out of the inning and got Melchione to ground out for the inning's second out. However, Melchione's groundout allowed Mathison to score to get the Zips within one. Hauser then unleashed a wild pitch, allowing McConachie to tie the game. Unfortunately, even with the bases cleared, the Zips' rally continued.
Tucker Biehl singled and went to third when the throwing attempt to catch him trying to steal second went into the outfield. Hauser walked the next two batters to load the bases before being replaced by junior RHP Quinichett Agyei, who walked Morgan to force in the game-winning run. The frame ended on an Amundson strikeout.
The Aggies went down in order in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the sweep for the Zips. Biehl led the Zips with a 2-for-4 afternoon. The Aggies will play a midweek game at the Greensboro Grasshoppers' First National Bank Field on Tuesday at 5 p.m. before starting Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play on Friday, opening a three-game series at Elon on Friday at 6 p.m.
