Aggies held to just five hits

Box Score
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., APRIL 6, 2008 – The North Carolina A&T baseball team didn’t find Bethune-Cookman to be friendly host. The Wildcats completed a three-game sweep of the Aggies 7-1 at Jackie Robinson Park on Sunday in front on a national television audience watching on ESNPU. Nick Mayo went 1-for-3 with a RBI.   

“They are very good baseball team,’’ said head coach Keith Shumate. “We just couldn’t slow them down this weekend, but not many teams have. They’re that good.”

The Aggies have always found things tough in Daytona Beach. With Sunday’s loss, the Aggies have now lost their last 14 games in Daytona Beach. Bethune-Cookman starter Eric Thomas helped to keep the streak alive by going six innings, giving up one run and striking out five. The Aggies only run came in the sixth and that run came with two outs.

Joe McIntyre got an infield single and moved to second on a throwing error. Neil Rosser walked and both runners advanced on a Thomas wild pitch. Mayo scored McIntyre from third with a RBI single.

But before Mayo’s run-scoring hit, the Wildcats had take a big lead thanks to a four-run fifth that gave the Wildcats a 6-0 lead at the time. The big blow came off the bat of Jose Lozada as he hit two-run single to left field that scored Justin Hoyte and Patrick Jones.  

Thomas improved to 5-0 on the season. Meanwhile, Aggies starter Johnson had his roughest start of the season. He dropped 4-2 on the season after giving up seven earned runs in 6.1 innings. Johnson did strike out seven Wildcats.

On Tuesday, the Aggies (12-19, 4-5) will complete an early game with Charlotte that was rained out in the sixth. They will then play the regularly-scheduled game at 6 p.m.