Beatty hits two doubles

Box Score
ELON, April 30, 2009 – The North Carolina A&T baseball team kept grabbing leads on Thursday only to see Elon take them away. In the end, the back-and-forth contest ended with the Phoenix finally pulling out a 10-7 win at Latham Park.

C.J. Beatty led the Aggies by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. The Aggies hit five doubles on the day led by Beatty’s two.

Down 5-3 in the fifth, Hines led off with a double down the left field line. Xavier Macklin scored Hines with another double to left to pull the Aggies to within one. The doubling continued for the Aggies as Beatty doubled to score Macklin and Nick Rogers doubled to score Beatty to give the Aggies a 6-5 advantage. The Aggies closed out their scoring in the fifth with a RBI single from Cyril Daniel that scored Rogers for a 7-5 lead.

But the Phoenix responded to the Aggies rally in its half of the fifth. A Dallas Tarleton home run was the catalyst for a four-run fifth for the Phoenix. Chase Austin’s two-run home run gave the Phoenix a 9-7 lead. Elon would add another run in the eighth to solidify the win.

The day started out well for Aggies starter Chris Watson. He pitched three solid innings, giving up two runs in the process. The Aggies were able to grab him an early lead in the first as Beatty scored Macklin from first base on a RBI double. The Aggies took a 2-0 lead when Jaron Neal singled home Beatty from third.

N.C. A&T added another run in the second. A Marquis Riley single followed by a double from Lester Rivenbark put runners on second and third. Hines scored Riley on a sacrifice fly to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead. But the Phoenix would fight back with five unanswered before the Aggies fifth.

The Aggies will close out their home schedule this weekend with a three-game series against Coppin State at War Memorial Stadium. The Aggies will go on the road to play UNC Asheville on May 9 before making up a game against Florida A&M on May 11. The MEAC Tournament begins May 14-16.