WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – North Carolina A&T's 2026 baseball season came to an end on Saturday with an 8-7 walk-off loss to the Monmouth Hawks on a wild pitch at MU Baseball Field.
The wild pitch capped an interesting season in which the Aggies showed flashes with midweek wins but struggled on weekends against Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) foes. They finished 14-38 overall and 5-25 in the CAA, losing all 10 three-game CAA series.
Monmouth improved to 29-21 overall and 20-10 in conference play by taking two of three from A&T. With a top-two finish in the CAA North, Monmouth claimed an automatic spot in the 2026 CAA Baseball Championship Tournament in Wilmington, NC.
Meanwhile, the Aggies can look back on the final four games of the season and see a competitive edge that emerged against two of the top teams in the CAA – UNC Wilmington and Monmouth.
The Aggies went into the top of the eighth inning on Saturday against the Hawks tied at 5-5. Senior
Luis Gomez got a rally started with a one-out single followed by a two-run home run from sophomore
JT Taylor to give the Aggies a 7-5 advantage heading into the home half of the eighth.
Unfortunately for A&T, RJ Mustaro returned the favor by hitting a two-run home run of his own to tie the game again, this time at 7-7. It was the second of his two home runs on the afternoon. Right-handed reliever Kevin Opanel (W, 5-1) started the ninth for Monmouth and retired the Aggies in order, setting up the decisive bottom frame.
A&T senior RHP
Grayson King (L, 0-1) started the ninth and hit Brendan Buecker with a 2-2 pitch, ending his outing. Sophomore LHP
James Van Meter entered, gave up a single to Colin Ritcher, and graduate
Diego Barrett relieved him.
Chris Walsh laid down a sacrifice bunt, advancing Buecker to third and Ritcher to second. Barrett's next pitch struck Wyatt Hunt's foot. Buecker tried to score on what he thought was a wild pitch, but it was ruled a hit-by-pitch, loading the bases.
Unfortunately, two pitches later, Barrett threw a wild pitch, and Buecker scored the winning run to lead the Hawks to victory.
In his final game of the season, Taylor had a monster game. He had his second career two-home run game, going 2-for-2 with five RBIs. He previously homered twice at Delaware on April 18, 2025. Seniors
Nick DiCarlo (2-for-5, two RBIs) and Gomez (two hits, two runs in three at-bats) ended their careers on a positive note.
After trailing 2-0 in the first, Taylor gave A&T the lead with a three-run homer in the second. Monmouth tied it in the third, but DiCarlo's two-run single in the fourth put A&T ahead 5-3. Solo homers by Nick Lavarco and Mustaro in the seventh tied it at 5-5, setting up the late-game theatrics.
