ELON – The North Carolina A&T baseball team masterfully used the pitching combination of senior right-hander Gavin Sentell (W, 1-1), junior RHP Aiden Hansen, and graduate RHP Kobie Cushing (S, 2) to win its Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) opener against Elon 2-1 at Latham Park on Friday. The Aggies moved to 3-10 overall and 1-0 in league play, while the Phoenix dropped to 6-7 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
Sentell tossed the first five innings, giving up one run on four hits while striking out two and walking only one. Hansen followed by pitching three scoreless innings of middle relief, giving up two hits and striking out a batter in the process. Cushing protected the lead in the ninth. The Phoenix did not look too bad on the mound either.
RHP Brian Strange (L, 1-2) tossed seven innings in the start for the Phoenix, giving up a hit and two runs. He also walked two and struck out five. RHP Sam Nomura pitched two scoreless innings for the Phoenix, but the Aggies were able to do their damage early, starting with senior Nick DiCarlo.
DiCarlo opened the game by reaching on a walk before advancing to second base on a Strange wild pitch. Strange got junior Marcus Bradshaw on a strikeout before sophomore Tyler Smith delivered an RBI single through the right side to score DiCarlo. Sophomore JT Taylor's groundout moved Smith to third, but the inning came to an end on a Boaz Harper flyout.
Strange returned for the A&T second and started things the same way he started the first, walking the leadoff batter. This time, sophomore Bruce Wyche benefited before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore Reginald Tuggle III. Another Strange wild pitch put Wyche on third before Kristian Amaro brought him home on an RBI sac fly, giving the Aggies a 2-0 lead. For the remainder of the game, the Aggies pitched out of difficult situations, and the Phoenix left men stranded on base.
Elon left two on in the fourth and three on in the fifth, even though the Phoenix pushed a run across in the fifth. After a hit by pitch, a walk, and a single loaded the bases, Sentell hit Jose Mariano with a pitch, forcing Jackson Alford from third for the Phoenix's only run of the afternoon. Hansen entered the game in the sixth and got out of a jam caused by a single and an error. Elon left 11 men on base for the game.
Only one Phoenix base runner reached on Hansen over the next two innings, and that was on an error. Cushing stepped on the mound to open the ninth and allowed the winning run to reach on a single by Lawson Wheeler. However, a flyout, pop-up, and strikeout after the single secured the save for Cushing and the win for A&T.
The two teams go at it again on Saturday from Latham Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
