Post by Bornthrilla on Apr 29, 2009 11:31:40 GMT -5
AGGIES TAKE DOWN SPARTANS
Rogers hits his eighth homer of the season
GREENSBORO, April 28, 2009 – North Carolina A&T baseball coach Keith Shumate has preached patience to his team. He has repeated over and over again; don’t focus on how you begin but how you finish.
Apparently, his team listened. Nick Rogers and Jaron Neal had three hits apiece to lead the Aggies to a 7-6 win over UNC Greensboro at UNCG Stadium on Tuesday night. Rogers also homered and Neal added two RBIs. After beating the Spartans for the first time in six years last season, the Aggies have now won three of their last four matchups with their cross-town rival. With the MEAC tournament 2 ½ weeks away, the Aggies are 6-3 over the past 10 days. They are 14-29 on the season.
N.C. A&T took the lead for good on Wednesday in the fourth. Rogers opened the inning with a triple, which was followed by a RBI single from Neal to give the Aggies a 2-1 lead. Rogers gave the Aggies a 3-1 lead with towering homer over the left field wall in the sixth inning. The Spartans scored in the bottom of the sixth to move back to within one.
The Aggies blew the lead open in the seventh, however. With James Howard on first, George Hines reached base after the pitch got away from UNCG catcher Pedro Leon as Hines swung and missed on a third strike. N.C. A&T took advantage of the gift with a RBI single from Xavier Macklin that scored Howard from third to give the Aggies a 4-2 lead. After C.J. Beatty grounded out, back-to-back wild pitches from UNCG reliever Greg Martin allowed Hines and Macklin to score for a 6-2 lead.
The Rogers/Neal combination would close out the scoring for the Aggies. Rogers doubled down the right field line. It was followed by Neal’s RBI single up the middle to give the Aggies a five-run advantage.
UNCG would not go away easily. The scored a run in the seventh and in the eighth to close the Aggies lead to three at 7-4. In the ninth, the Spartans continue to chip away at the Aggies lead.
Aggie reliever Garrett Braun put Spartans on first and second when he hit Leon with a pitch. A wild pitch would move those runners to third and second with one out. Pinch hitter Rob Gilliam kept the Spartans rally going by reaching on a throwing error, allowing Corey Overholtzer and Leon to score. With the game-winning run at the plate, the Aggies turned to pitching ace Esterlin Paulino to halt the Spartans comeback.
Paulino struck out the first batter he faced and then got Joey Frabasile to ground out to second to end the game. Freshman Nick Oelker (1-7) earned his first win of the season, while Paulino earned his first save of the season. The Aggies return to action 3 p.m., Wednesday at Gardner-Webb.
Rogers hits his eighth homer of the season
GREENSBORO, April 28, 2009 – North Carolina A&T baseball coach Keith Shumate has preached patience to his team. He has repeated over and over again; don’t focus on how you begin but how you finish.
Apparently, his team listened. Nick Rogers and Jaron Neal had three hits apiece to lead the Aggies to a 7-6 win over UNC Greensboro at UNCG Stadium on Tuesday night. Rogers also homered and Neal added two RBIs. After beating the Spartans for the first time in six years last season, the Aggies have now won three of their last four matchups with their cross-town rival. With the MEAC tournament 2 ½ weeks away, the Aggies are 6-3 over the past 10 days. They are 14-29 on the season.
N.C. A&T took the lead for good on Wednesday in the fourth. Rogers opened the inning with a triple, which was followed by a RBI single from Neal to give the Aggies a 2-1 lead. Rogers gave the Aggies a 3-1 lead with towering homer over the left field wall in the sixth inning. The Spartans scored in the bottom of the sixth to move back to within one.
The Aggies blew the lead open in the seventh, however. With James Howard on first, George Hines reached base after the pitch got away from UNCG catcher Pedro Leon as Hines swung and missed on a third strike. N.C. A&T took advantage of the gift with a RBI single from Xavier Macklin that scored Howard from third to give the Aggies a 4-2 lead. After C.J. Beatty grounded out, back-to-back wild pitches from UNCG reliever Greg Martin allowed Hines and Macklin to score for a 6-2 lead.
The Rogers/Neal combination would close out the scoring for the Aggies. Rogers doubled down the right field line. It was followed by Neal’s RBI single up the middle to give the Aggies a five-run advantage.
UNCG would not go away easily. The scored a run in the seventh and in the eighth to close the Aggies lead to three at 7-4. In the ninth, the Spartans continue to chip away at the Aggies lead.
Aggie reliever Garrett Braun put Spartans on first and second when he hit Leon with a pitch. A wild pitch would move those runners to third and second with one out. Pinch hitter Rob Gilliam kept the Spartans rally going by reaching on a throwing error, allowing Corey Overholtzer and Leon to score. With the game-winning run at the plate, the Aggies turned to pitching ace Esterlin Paulino to halt the Spartans comeback.
Paulino struck out the first batter he faced and then got Joey Frabasile to ground out to second to end the game. Freshman Nick Oelker (1-7) earned his first win of the season, while Paulino earned his first save of the season. The Aggies return to action 3 p.m., Wednesday at Gardner-Webb.
