Brewington remains hot at the plate

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GREENSBORO, April 7, 2007 – Head North Carolina A&T coach Keith Shumate had a pretty good idea what Bethune-Cookman University would bring to Greensboro. Good pitching.

Unfortunately, he was right. The Wildcats remained undefeated in the MEAC with 7-4 and 8-0 wins over the Aggies in doubleheader action from War Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The Aggies slipped to 9-21 overall and 3-5 in the MEAC.

The two teams conclude their three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m., from War Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised live by ESNPU, marking the second straight game the Aggies baseball program has played on national television.

Aggies outfielder Phillip Brewington appears ready for primetime. He had another outstanding game with a 3-for-5 performance. Jeremy Jones and Nelson Santos also had two hits in the first game. Brewington is 8-for-13 in his last four games and has worked his way into the Aggies starting lineup.

With the Aggies trailing 6-2 in Game 1, Brewington beat out an infield single to open the eighth. Jones followed with a single, but forced out at second on a Charlie Gamble groundball that scored Brewington from third.

Joe McIntyre came to the plate representing the tying run. But McIntyre popped out to second, and Patrick Oates followed by hitting into a fielder’s choice that forced Gamble out at second. The Wildcats quickly took advantage of the Aggies leaving runners on.

An Aggies error and hit batter by reliever Ron Phelps put runners on first and second for the Aggies. After a Phelps wild pitch, Jose’ Almonte singled to center field to give the Wildcats a three-run lead. The Aggies tried to again rally as Kory Kinnear opened the inning by walking.

Santos followed by singling through the left side to put runners on first and second. Joe Wade advanced the runners to third and second, setting up Nick Mayo’s sacrifice fly to center field.

Brewington would strikeout, however, to end the game. Tim Johnson (2-3) took the loss despite pitching well. He went 6.2 innings, gave up four earned runs and struck out nine. Wildcats starter Francisco Rodriguez was solid as well. He pitched eight innings and struck out nine in improving to 4-3. Phil Enright earned the save.

Hiram Burgos was even stronger in the second game for the Wildcats. He pitched five innings in a seven inning game, giving up just three hits and striking out seven. Alejandro Jimenez led he Wildcats by going 2-for-3 with three RBI, including a home run. Chris Eggers (2-6) took the loss for the Aggies. Kinnear had two hits for the Aggies.