Watson, Smith combine for four-hitter   

Box Score
DOVER, Del., April 26, 2009 – Don’t look now, but the youthful North Carolina A&T baseball team is right in the thick of things in the MEAC standings. The Aggies took two of three over the weekend from the No.2 team in the conference with a 7-3 win over Delaware State Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field.

With the win the Aggies improved to 6-8 in the conference. The win puts them right in the middle of a jumbled seven-team conference race where only 2 ½ games separate the second-place and sixth-place teams. Even though a conference record does not earn a MEAC team entry into the NCAA regionals, going into the MEAC Tournament as a possible second or third seed would do psychological wonders for a team thought to be in rebuilding mode this season.

Another mental edge for the Aggies is that they have been able to play their best baseball on the road this season. The Aggies took two of three from the Hornets on the road this weekend. Earlier this season, the Aggies took two of three from Norfolk State on the road.

On Sunday, the Aggies were led by two players who have caught fire recently. James Howard went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI, while Cyril Daniel had another two-hit performance. Howard went 5-for-11 in the series with two RBIs. Daniel was 6-for-10 over the weekend with six RBIs, two home runs and five runs scored.

After a Nick Rogers walk and a Jaron Neal double put two runners in scoring position, Daniel hit a RBI single to left field to score Rogers for a 1-0 Aggies lead in the second. Lester Rivenbark gave the Aggies an early cushion by clearing the bases with his second home run of the season. This one flew over the left field wall for a 4-0 Aggies edge.

The Aggies added two more runs in the fourth thanks to a two-run RBI triple by George Hines. The Aggies lead went to 7-1 in the sixth inning as Howard’s RBI triple scored Marquis Riley who reached base on an infield single.

The Hornets tried to mount a rally with two runs in their half of the sixth inning. Abe Eubank hit a two run homer off of Aggies starter Chris Watson to move the Hornets to within four runs. N.C. A&T’s pitching would take over from there.

Reliever John Smith entered the game in the seventh inning and pitched three innings of shutdown baseball to earn his first save of the season. Smith struck out six, did not allow a hit and walked just one batter. Watson went six innings, gave up four hits and struck out two.

The Aggies return to action Tuesday night when they face UNC Greensboro at 6. The Aggies have four conference games remaining. They have a three-game series at home against Coppin State this weekend. There is also a makeup game against Florida A&M remaining. No makeup date has been scheduled.