GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T edged ahead by one through four innings and fell behind by one after seven before a late surge powered UNC Wilmington to a 10-7 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) baseball conference victory Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium.
The Seahawks captured the second game of the three-game series to clinch the series. However, Game 2 unfolded far differently from Game 1. The Aggies rebounded from an 18-2 loss to the Seahawks on Friday night and competed fiercely on Saturday, even as their overall record slipped to 12-36 and their conference mark to 3-26.
A&T turned a season-high five double plays on Saturday. Meanwhile, Trevor Lucas fueled UNCW's late surge, delivering a 3-for-4 performance with three RBIs, two runs scored, and a home run. Lucas propelled the Seahawks to a 28-21 overall record and a 16-10 league mark.
Senior right-handed pitcher
Gavin Sentell, set to be one of six Aggies honored during Sunday's Senior Day ceremony before Game 3, fired his best start since his win over Appalachian State on February 21. Sentell worked four innings, surrendering only one run on three hits, with three walks and three strikeouts before departing with a 2-1 lead, thanks to a two-run RBI double from senior
Luis Gomez in the A&T fourth inning.
The game pivoted once Sentell exited the mound. RHP
Jordan Bright (L, 1-7) navigated out of a jam in the fifth after issuing walks to his first two batters. Sophomore
Bruce Wyche contributed by snagging a fly ball in right-center field and firing a throw to third baseman
Boaz Harper to tag out Matous Bubenik attempting to advance.
A&T could not catch a break in the UNCW sixth, however. Danny O'Brien blasted a three-run homer, Will Tyrrell unleashed a two-run homer, and Lucas launched a solo shot to spark a six-run frame for the Seahawks, giving them a 7-2 lead. A&T charged back with four unanswered runs to close within one.
The Aggies capitalized on sharp base running to drive their resurgence. Wyche opened the A&T sixth with a double, and senior
Andrew Tinsley and junior
Marcus Bradshaw joined him on the base paths. UNCW right-handed starter Cooper Allen (W, 7-3) yielded the walk to Bradshaw and departed, with RHP TJ Ziermann entering and issuing a walk to Bradshaw as well.
A passed ball followed by two wild pitches generated three Aggie runs, as Wyche, Tinsley, and Bradshaw all dashed home to slash UNCW's lead to 7-5. Ziermann struck out freshman
Ryan Allen to close the frame, but the Aggies remained persistent. They plated another run on an RBI double by senior
Nick DiCarlo in the seventh to close within one. Despite their momentum, the Aggies could not silence the Seahawks' offense.
Lucas delivered a two-run RBI single in the eighth. Kevin Jones followed with an RBI single, handing the Seahawks a four-run advantage at 10-6. RHP Mason Ruh (S, 1), entering in the seventh, shut down the Aggies in the eighth. He yielded a leadoff solo home run to Allen in the ninth, marking Allen's first career homer, and then retired the next three Aggies to lock in the Seahawks' 2-0 series lead.
DiCarlo, Wyche, and sophomore
Reginald Tuggle III notched two-hit games for the Aggies. Joining Sentell in Sunday's Senior Day ceremonies will be DiCarlo, RHP
Kobie Cushing, Gomez, RHP
Grayson King, and Tinsley. Senior Day commences at 12:30 p.m., with Sunday's first pitch slated for 1 p.m. at The War.
