TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — North Carolina A&T continued to be an absolute nuisance on the road for Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) baseball opponents.
The Aggies laid a thumping on Florida A&M in every way Saturday afternoon at FAMU Park to earn a 15-3 win in seven innings. N.C. A&T (18-13, 8-3 MEAC) had six different players record multiple-hit games. Three Aggies had three-RBI games and starting right-hand pitcher Evan Gates K’ed nine FAMU Rattlers. The Aggies remain in first place in the MEAC Southern Division.
The game was stopped early because of the conference’s run rule. The Aggies scored at least one run in every inning except the seventh and at one point, the Aggies led 15-0 in the game.
Two five-run innings highlighted the Aggies dominance on the day. Leading 4-0 going into the fourth and with runners on second and third, junior Dustin Baber doubled down the left field line to score two more Aggie runs. Senior Jason King followed with an RBI single to give the Aggies a 7-0 advantage.
[inArticle]
Senior Dawnoven Smith cleared the bases with a two-run home run to make it a 9-0 game. It was Smith’s second home run of the day and the 17th of his career.
N.C. A&T posted another five runs in the sixth inning. Juniors Zach McLean and Ryne Stanley singled to get the rally started. Senior pinch-hitter Brandon Melendez walked to load the bases. McLean scored as Justin Williams was hit with a 1-2 pitch to force in the run.
FAMU walked in another run to give the Aggies a 12-0 as Tony Mack trotted down to first to force home Stanley. N.C. A&T finally got a hit to get a run home as Baber earned an RBI single to score Melendez. King complemented Baber’s single with a two-run RBI single to score Mack and Williams for a 15-0 lead.
Gates pitched five scoreless innings for the Aggies to improve to 4-0 on the season. Josh Barr (1-3) took the loss.
Baber, King and Smith had three RBI apiece. King extended his hitting streak to seven games by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Baber, junior Cam Williamson, Smith, Stanley and Mack had two hits apiece and Williamson and Mack had two RBI apiece. Williams led the Aggies with three runs scored. Aggies head coach Ben Hall earned his 100th career victory over the weekend.
N.C. A&T will go after the sweep on Sunday as the two teams will play Game 3 at noon.