McIntyre records five RBI    

Box Score    
GREENSBORO, April 1, 2007 – The North Carolina A&T baseball team seems to have started swinging the bat well. But the nagging problem of giving up runs late again surfaced on Sunday as Florida A&M scored numerous runs late to down the Aggies 11-9 in MEAC action.

N.C. A&T fell to 9-17 on the season and 3-3 in the MEAC with all six games coming on the road. Joe McIntyre led the Aggies with three hits and five RBI, which included two doubles. C.J. Beatty added three hits as he continued his 10-game winning streak in which he is hitting .500 with three home runs and 10 RBI over that span.

After falling behind 3-0, Beatty helped the Aggies rally in the third by leading off the inning with a single. Nick Mayo reached on a Florida A&M error, in which Beatty advanced to third. McIntyre brought both men home with a two-run RBI double that cut the Rattlers lead to 3-2. An infield single by Charlie Gamble scored McIntyre to tie the game at 3.

The Aggies would put separation between themselves and the Rattlers in the fourth. Nelson Santos led the fourth with a single and later moved to second on a wild pitch and to third when Lester Rivenbark reached on an error. An infield single by Beatty gave the Aggies lead for the first time as Santos scored.

Mayo’s single scored Rivenbark and Beatty to give the Aggies a 6-3 lead. Following Mayo’s hit; the Rattlers went to the bullpen and brought in Joe Cardenas. Cardenas was greeted with another McIntyre double, which scored Mayo and gave the Aggies a 7-3 lead.

Over next four innings, the Rattlers chipped away at the Aggies lead. After the Rattlers cut the Aggies lead to 7-6 in the seventh, the Aggies went to one of their top bullpen arms in Ron Phelps. Phelps opened his appearance by striking out Darryl Evans to end the seventh.

But in the eighth the Rattlers took control of the game. With one out, Phelps walked Elvin Millan. Tim Schalch doubled to put runners on third and second for Jared Jeffries who reached on a fielder’s choice when Millan slid home under a Neil Rosser tag at home that tied the game at 7. Corey McFadden gave the Rattlers the lead with a single to center field that scored Schalch from third.

Stanley Gnat’s single scored Jeffries as Gnat moved into scoring position on a throw home. Phelps’ wild pitch put another run on the board for the Rattlers as McFadden scored and Gnat advanced to third. Anthony Mazzeo’s sacrifice fly gave the Rattlers a 11-7 lead

The Aggies tried to rally in the ninth. Kory Kinnear led off the inning with a single. Runners moved to first and second when Santos was hit by a pitch. Pinch-hitter Joe Wade singled to load the bases for Beatty who struck out looking. Mayo made the second out when he flew out to left. McIntyre kept the Aggies hope alive with a two-run RBI single that put the Aggies down two. The Aggies rally continued when Jeremy Jones walked, but Gamble flew out to right to end the game.

Phelps took the loss while reliever Rodriguez earned the win for the Rattlers. The Aggies will be back in action on Tuesday when they face UNC-Greensboro at First Horizon Park, home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers minor league baseball team. After facing Campbell on Wednesday, the Aggies start a three-game series defending MEAC Champion Bethune-Cookman. The third game in that series will be televised by ESPNU on April 8 from War Memorial Stadium.