AGGIES WIN FIRST ROAD GAME

Aggies sweep doubleheader from Hawks

Box Score 1

Box Score 2
 PRINCESS ANNE, April 13, 2008 – It took 10 innings but the North Carolina A&T baseball team finally got its first road win of the season.

The Aggies scored five runs in the home half of the 10th to down Maryland-Eastern Shore 12-7 Sunday afternoon at Hawks Stadium. The Aggies then built a road winning streak by winning the second game of the doubleheader 6-2.

The Aggies (14-22, 6-5 MEAC) and the Hawks (5-28. 4-4) had to suspend play on Saturday because of rain. The doubleheader was moved to Sunday but there is still a third game in the series that needs to be played.

The two games that were played helped N.C. A&T end a six-game losing streak while ending a period in which the Aggies lost nine of 10. C.J. Beatty helped the Aggies to victory by going 3-for-5 with three RBIs, including his eighth home run of the season. Joe McIntyre added three hits and three runs scored while James Howard added a career-high three RBIs.

Despite all of the Aggies offensive heroics, it took another strong performance from Marquis Frink to nail down the Aggies first road win. With the game tied at 7, Frink came on in the ninth and avoided losing the game on a walk-off hit. Frink gave up a lead-off single in the ninth to Deutschmann. Pinch-runner Brian White moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. But Frink settled down and struck out Josh Dunham and forced a groundout to send the game into extra innings.

N.C. A&T took advantage of avoiding a game-winning hit by putting the game away with a five-run 10th. Walks to Joe McIntyre and Jeremy Jones set-up Beatty’s three-run homer that gave the Aggies a 10-7 lead. The Hawks’ problems continued as Jerel Wilson reached on an error and Nick Mayo reached on a single that moved Wilson to third. After Mayo was caught stealing, the Hawks gave up another walk, which allowed Phillip Brewington to reach.

Brewington moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, and Howard capped off his career day with a single to right that scored Wilson and Brewington for a five-run lead. Frink sealed the win by striking out the side in the 10th to improve to 2-3 on the season.

The Aggies took an early 5-1 lead in the first game before seeing that lead erased in the eighth as the Hawks scored three runs to tie the game at 7.

The Aggies would need a late-inning blitz to win Game 2 as well. With the game tied at 2 going into the ninth, Brewington led off the inning by tripling to left field. An infield single by Howard put runners on first and third for Jeremy Jones who double down the right field line to score Brewington and give the Aggies the lead. Beatty kept the rally going with a single right to score Howard for a 4-2 Aggies lead.

Rogers’ sacrifice fly scored Jones and McIntyre capped off the four-run ninth with a RBI single to score Beatty.

Frink followed up a strong starting performance from starter Tim Johnson by shutting down the Hawks in the ninth. Johnson pitched 7.2 innings, gave up just four hits and struck out five to improve to 5-2 on the season. The Aggies are back in action Tuesday when they travel to Buies Creek to face Campbell at 7 p.m.