Mayo goes 3-for-3 with two RBIs

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GREENSBORO, April 27, 2008 – What was an emotional moment for North Carolina A&T head baseball coach Keith Shumate, may turn into out to be a blessed moment when the 2008 MEAC Tournament ends.

Shumate and the Aggies baseball program honored 11 seniors Sunday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium before taking on Delaware State. Six of those seniors helped him win his first and only MEAC baseball championship in 2005. After being honored, the experienced Aggies defeated the Hornets 8-2 to take two out of three from the Hornets in the three-game series.

“They have meant so much to our program,’’ said Shumate. “You can’t measure the things these young men have done for this program. I’m so proud of these guys.”

The Aggies experience will be key going into the MEAC Tournament in May. Players such as senior Jeremy Jones, Nick Mayo, Joe McIntyre and pitcher John Primus have been there before and have had success. Jones is getting hot at the right time. The Fayetteville, N.C., native has hit safely in his last seven games. He is 15-for-27 at the plate over that span with nine RBIs, two home runs and 12 runs. McIntyre has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, and Mayo was 3-for-3 on Sunday with two RBIs. He also made some spectacular plays at shortstop, which will also be crucial for the Aggies. 

The Aggies also got a strong pitching performance from senior Marquis Frink on Sunday. The Garner senior is having the best season of his career. After settling down after he walked three batters in the first inning, he pitched six innings, struck out five and gave up just one earned run to improve to 3-3 on the season. The Aggies gave Frink a huge cushion in the third with a four-run inning. Sophomore Nick Rogers started the rally with a double that was followed by a Hornets fielding error.

Mayo took advantage of the Hornets miscue with a two-run RBI double that scored Rogers and senior Nelson Santos to give the Aggies a 4-0 lead. Senior Joe Wade continued the Senior Day celebration at the plate with a two-run over the right field wall to put the Aggies ahead by six. It would be more than enough for the Aggies. Senior reliever Chris Eggers, who is also having his best season as an Aggie, came on to pitch the final three innings of the ball game.

The other Aggies honored on Sunday included Phillip Brewington and pitching ace Tim Johnson. Johnson, who pitched Saturday, was the only senior who did not see action on Sunday. The Aggies improved to 21-25 on the season and are 8-6 in the MEAC. The Aggies are in fourth place in the conference, a game behind third-place Florida A&M and two games behind the Hornets (15-25, 10-4 MEAC). The Aggies have three conference games remaining with Coppin State, while the Rattlers close out their conference season against Norfolk State and the Hornets close out with regular-season champion Bethune-Cookman.

The Aggies will play out of conference on Tuesday when they host Wofford at 3 p.m., from War Memorial Stadium.