GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T had its moments offensively during Friday afternoon's non-conference baseball game against the Georgetown Hoyas at War Memorial Stadium.
Unfortunately, the Hoyas had many more moments offensively, defeating the Aggies 17-6 in eight innings. Georgetown recorded 19 hits, six extra base hits, which included two home runs, and the Hoyas drove in 15 runs. The Aggies pounded out 10 hits, led by the two hottest hitters in their lineup – senior
Andrew Tinsley and sophomore
Savoi Edwards. Edwards extended his hitting streak to 10 games by going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
After going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, Tinsley is now hitting .409 (9-22) with 13 RBIs and four home runs over his last six games.
It took A&T a few innings to get going. In the meantime, Georgetown built a commanding 7-0 lead by scoring seven runs on eight hits over its first four at-bats. A key turning point for the Aggies came in the home fourth when sophomore
Tyler Smith reached on an error. Sophomore
Bruce Wyche followed with a single before Edwards loaded the bases against Georgetown starter JT Raab (W, 1-1). Tinsley then delivered a crucial single up the middle, scoring Smith and Wyche and narrowing the Hoyas' lead to 7-2.
Sophomore
JT Taylor reloaded the bases with a single, and
Adrian Gonzalez brought Edwards home with a sacrifice fly to narrow the gap to four. Raab ended the inning with a force out and a fly out, containing the damage. Despite momentum, the Hoyas dashed comeback hopes in the fifth.
The Hoyas added four in the fifth for an 11-3 lead. In the seventh, Connor Peek's home run made it 12-3, then Jeremy Shefield singled and stole second with one out, threatening an early finish under the mercy rule. A&T turned to sophomore righty
Braxton Davis, but Connor Price greeted him with an RBI double down the left-field line to score Shefield and give the Hoyas the 10-run lead they were looking for before Davis got back-to-back flyouts to end the frame.
The Aggies needed a run to continue in the eighth—and delivered.
Reginald Tuggle III was hit by a pitch, Acevedo singled, and
Marcus Bradshaw's RBI single ensured the game went on after Tuggle scored to make it 13-4. Wyche walked to keep the threat alive.
Edwards capitalized with a two-run RBI single, getting the Aggies to within seven, but Tinsley hit into an inning-ending double play. Again, the Hoyas had an answer for the momentum the Aggies had just acquired. AJ Solomon led off the eighth with a solo home run. Peek added a two-run double and Sheffield connected on an RBI sac fly to give the Hoyas an 11-run lead. The Aggies needed two runs to force the ninth but managed only one baserunner off Hoyas RHP Andrew Citron, ending the game early.
Peek and Price led the Hoyas with going 3-for-6 with three runs scored and five RBIs, while Price went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and a run scored. RHP
Gavin Sentell (L, 1-4) started the game for A&T and pitched four innings. Game 2 of the non-conference three-game series is at 2 p.m. on Saturday at The War.
