CHARLESTON, SC – For the second consecutive day, the North Carolina A&T baseball team had an impressive first inning only to see the College of Charleston Cougars rally to victory.

On Sunday, the Cougars overcame a four-run A&T first inning to win 10-5 at Patriots Point and complete a three-game sweep. The loss dropped A&T to 9-24 overall and 3-12 in CAA play. Six Cougars had multiple hits, helping Charleston improve to 16-19 overall and 8-7 in league play.

Senior Andrew Tinsley had a big afternoon for the Aggies with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate that included a double and two runs scored. He reached base in all four at-bats, including in the first inning. Senior Nick DiCarlo led off every game of the series with a hit, including Sunday when he opened the contest with an infield single. Charleston right-handed starter Carson Bryant then walked sophomore JT Taylor to put Aggies on first and second.

Bryant got sophomore Bruce Wyche to fly out to right field, but Tinsley reached on a fielder's choice. A throwing error by Bryant on the play allowed DiCarlo to score, while Taylor and Tinsley ended the play at third and second. Senior Luis Gomez took advantage, roping a double to left center to score Taylor and Tinsley to put A&T ahead 3-0. With two outs in the inning, freshman Adrian Gonzalez completed the four-run first with an RBI single to right field, scoring Gomez.

A&T junior right-handed starter Agyei Quinichett (L, 1-2) kept the Cougars off the board until the third. Back-to-back singles from Reece Holbrook and Jacab Amman led to both runners eventually moving into scoring position with one out for Alex LeCoste. LeCoste delivered a two-run RBI single to cut A&T's lead to 4-2. Quinichett gave up another single in the inning, but Charleston stranded two with a popout and a groundout. Charleston broke the game open in the fourth with a seven-run frame. Most of the damage came after two outs.

After Amman's sacrifice fly for the inning's second out, Dylan Johnson's RBI single tied the game 4-4, ending Quinichett's day. Graduate RHP Kobie Cushing entered as Ethan Plyler, Landon Penfield, and Braeden Smith hit RBI singles, giving Charleston a 7-4 lead. Stow Rogers' two-run single pushed the lead to five. Charleston scored again in the fifth to make it 10-4.

The Aggies added a run to their totals in the sixth when Tinsley led off the frame with a single. Gomez followed with a walk before RHP Austin Wiegandt (W, 2-1) struck out the next two batters he faced. Sophomore Boaz Harper came through with a two-out RBI single, however, scoring Tinsley to cut Charleston's lead to five. The Aggies never mounted a serious threat from there, hitting into a double play in the eighth inning, before the game ended on three consecutive groundouts in the ninth.

Next up for A&T is a midweek game against the High Point University Panthers at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 14, at Truist Point, home of the High Point Rockers minor league baseball team.