ROSSER'S HIT GIVES AGGIES WIN OVER ALBANY

Aggies take two of three from Great Danes

  GREENSBORO, N.C., March 6, 2005 - Neil Rosser's walk-off double with two outs in the ninth inning lifted N.C. A&T to a 4-3 victory over Albany at War Memorial Stadium.

  In the bottom of the ninth, Joe McIntyre drew a walk off of Albany reliever Shawn Ryan, but pinch runner Phillip Brewington was doubled up on a line drive off the bat of Joel Battle.

  Shelby Payne stepped to the plate and took a fastball that glanced off his shoulder, which gave him a free pass to first base. Two pitches later, Payne stole second base, which set the stage for Rosser.

  Rosser connected on a 1-0 fastball and hit the left center field wall, scoring Payne with the winning run and pushing the Aggies record to 5-10. Albany fell to 1-2.

  Aggie pitcher John Primus pitched a complete game and was dominant, allowing just four hits and one earned run with six strikeouts.

  Three of the hits came in the top of the ninth inning, which allowed the Great Danes to tie the contest. Tony Vallone led off with a single. Lee Corvino singled and moved to second when Payne bobbled the ball, which allowed Vallone to score. Primus had Albany down to its last strike with two outs, but Steve Sayre placed a 2-2 pitch down the left field line for a game-tying double. Primus got out of the jam by striking out Tom Hill.

  N.C. A&T scored a pair of runs without a hit in the top of the fourth. With one out, Chris Williams drew a walk. Two batters later Raul Santiago reached base on a throwing error by Great Dane third baseman Steve Wyland. While Williams was scoring, Santiago kept running and scored on an errant throw by first baseman Derek Degrazio.

  The Aggies added another run on an RBI single from Joel Battle, which scored Santiago. Battle led the Aggie bats by going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

  N.C. A&T will face East Carolina on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Greenville, S.C.