Box Score Game 1
Box Score Game 2
SAVANNAH, Ga., February 27, 2009 – The North Carolina A&T baseball team got strong pitching performances from Blaine McCraw and Esterlin Paulino to sweep a doubleheader from Savannah State 5-2 and 6-3.

It was the Aggies first two wins of the season. In the first game. McCraw pitched 8.1 innings and struck out six to improve to 1-1 on the season. George Hines led the Aggies offensively by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. C.J. Beatty added two hits and two RBIs.

Hines broke open a 1-1 game in the fifth with a one-out RBI double to left center field to that scored Marquis Riley. Hines would later come around to score on a wild pitch to give the Aggies a 3-1 advantage. The Aggies added a run in the seventh off of a Hines home run, which was followed by a Beatty home run in the ninth.

Head coach Keith Shumate gave McCraw the ball in the ninth in an attempt to allow the freshman to earn his first career complete-game victory. McCraw struck out the first batter he faced, but gave up a single and double, which prompted Shumate to go to his bullpen. Garrett Braun retired the final two Savannah State batters even though one of those outs resulted in an RBI sacrifice fly.

In the second game, which was only a seven inning game, the Aggies used a three-run seventh to pull away from the Tigers. With the game tied at three going into the seventh, Xavier Macklin opened the inning by reaching on an error. Nick Rogers singled to right to put runners on first and second.

Beatty then gave the Aggies lead with an RBI single to center field. Cyril Daniel followed with another RBI single to score Rogers. A groundout to second by B.J. Curtis scored Beatty for the three-run Aggies lead. Again, Braun stepped in after the Tigers tried to mount a rally. He forced a groundout to second to earn his first career save.