Four different Aggies hit home runs in Game 2

Box Score 1
Box Score 2
GREENSBORO, April 18, 2009 – At one point in time on Saturday, the Savannah State and North Carolina A&T baseball teams were involved in an entertaining and competitive game at War Memorial Stadium.

All it took, however, was a Xavier Macklin home run, a pitch thrown behind star slugger C.J. Beatty’s head and three Savannah State ejections from the game; and the once competitive contest turned into an offensive showcase for the Aggies as they swept a doubleheader from the Tigers, 11-4 and 14-2.

In the first game, Xavier Macklin led the Aggies with a 4-for-5 performance that included a home run, a triple, four runs scored and four RBIs. Beatty also homered, scored twice and recorded three RBIs as the Aggies recorded 17 hits.

The Tigers offense wasn’t as efficient, yet they found themselves in a 4-4 tie with the Aggies going into the seventh inning. George Hines led off the Aggies seventh with a single to center field. Macklin, who is having one of the best freshman seasons in the history of the program, continued to do damage to opposing pitching. Macklin slammed a two-run homer over the left field wall to give the Aggies a 6-4 advantage.

The next pitch thrown went behind the head of Beatty, which opened the door for three ejections – two players and one coach. After things settled down, the Aggies offense took off. Beatty doubled to left field, Nick Rogers walked and both runners advanced on a passed ball. Jaron Neal scored Beatty from third with a sacrifice fly to center field. Cyril Daniel closed out the Aggies seventh-inning scoring with a single through the left side to give the Aggies an 8-4 lead.

A Macklin two-run triple and a Beatty sacrifice fly closed out the Aggies scoring in the eighth. In the midst of all the offense, the Aggies pitching was also effective.

Freshman Esterlin Paulino continued to serve as an excellent ace for the Aggies. He improved to 4-3, while improving his ERA to a team-low 3.21 by surrendering just two earned runs. Paulino struck out a season-high 10 batters over eight innings of work. Paulino gave up just one hit over the final four innings of the game to help the Aggies pull away.

In the second game, the Aggies recorded 14 hits over the first three innings of the game. Four players – Hines, Macklin, Rogers and Marquis Riley – hit home runs. Hines, Rogers, Macklin and Riley also had three hits apiece. Hines and Rogers had three and four RBIs respectively. Macklin’s home run was his eighth of the season.

Saturday’s games marked the fifth and sixth times the Aggies have recorded more than 15 hits in a game. The Aggies improved to 10-26 on the season and will play the Tigers again 1 p.m., Sunday at War Memorial Stadium.