Mayo goes 4-for-4 in second game

Box Score     Box Score 2
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 31, 2007 – North Carolina A&T wavered in the final innings of the first game of a Saturday baseball doubleheader at Moore-Kittles Field against Florida A&M. The Rattlers took advantage by beating the Aggies 8-4 in Game 1.

In the second game, the Aggies pitching shut down the Rattler bats late to salvage the split, 11-7. The Aggies improved to 9-16 on the season and 3-2 in the MEAC. Nick Mayo was 4-for-4 in the second game with three RBI and two runs scored. Charlie Gamble added two hits and two RBI, and C.J. Beatty hit his fourth home run on the season. 

The two teams put on offensive displays at the beginning of the second game. They combined for 11 runs and 10 hits over the first two innings of the game with the Rattlers coming away with a 6-5 lead. The Aggies took the lead for good in the fourth. After Rattlers reliever Eddie Thomas walked Lester Rivenbark and Beatty to open the fourth, Mayo followed with an RBI single to centerfield to score Rivenbark and tie the game at 6.

Artist Patton replaced Sutton and was greeted with an RBI single by Joe McIntyre, scoring Beatty. After Mayo was picked off base, Jeremy Jones walked to put runners on first and second. After a balk moved McIntyre to third, which set up Gamble’s sacrifice fly to centerfield to give the Aggies a 8-6 lead.

The Rattlers came back with a run in their half of the fifth to move to within one run. Kinnear’s RBI single up the middle in the sixth, however, would score Gamble to put the Aggies up two run. Beatty added to that lead by leading off the seventh with a home run to left field. Mayo kept the rally going with a double down the left field line. An error by the Rattlers led  to Mayo scoring to give the Aggies bullpen a comfortable cushion.

Ron Phelps, who came into the game in the fifth with one out, earned the save. Phelps pitched 2.1 innings, gave up just one hit in that span while striking out three for his seventh career save.

The Aggies late-game surge was not evident in the first game. The Aggies led 3-2 going into the seventh. Beatty increased that lead to two by scoring on a wild pitch. But in the Rattlers half of the seventh they answered with two runs of their own. Aggies starter Chris Eggers led the inning off by walking David James.

James advanced to second on a wild pitch. After an Elvin Millan infield single put runners on third and first, Tim Schalch grounded out to first, scoring James. Jared Jeffries followed with an RBI single that scored Millan to tie the game four. Schalach put the Aggies away with a two-out two-run RBI single in the eighth as the Rattlers scored four runs total in the inning.  

Eggers took the loss, while Kinnear was the biggest offensive threat with two RBI. The Aggies and the Rattlers conclude their three-game series on Sunday when they meet at 1 p.m.