One game after nearly sweeping Radford University in War Memorial Stadium, the A&T baseball team has a reincarnated momentum heading into Wednesday’s battle against Appalachian State.
The blue and gold completed a three game home sweep this past weekend over Norfolk State.
A&T had lost ten consecutive games after their home opener decimation over Buffalo University.
Now the Aggies have won the last seven out of eight battles with a 3-0 and 10-11 conference and overall record respectively.”We beat a very good Norfolk State this weekend,” said head coach Keith Shumate. “We were very fortunate to get the wins. I thought we really swung the bats well against a good pitching staff.”
The Aggies combined for 31 runs and 38 hits in the weekend series.
Norfolk State totaled 17, and lost all three games by at least three points, with nine errors.
Senior infielder Nelson Santos was a force to be reckoned with at the plate in the series batting 6-11 at .545 with four runs and five RBIs.
Santos 3-4 performance played a significant role in the outcome of Sunday’s contest.He also recorded two runs and three RBIs, while his teammates Jeremy Jones, Neil Rosser, Nick Mayo and Joey McIntyre added two hits a piece.
McIntyre also proved to be a problem for the Spartans batting 7-13 at .538.A&T also documented four homeruns against Norfolk State, the most so far this year against one opponent.
The men of blue-and-gold currently stand at second in the MEAC, behind conference powerhouse and defending champion Bethune-Cooman Wildcats.
Sophomore outfielder, and last years conference rookie of the year, CJ Beatty has been filling up the stat sheet this year. There are no signs of a sophomore slump as the Winston-Salem native leads the MEAC in home runs, total bases, and slugging percentage.
Senior outfielder Jeremy Jones and senior infielder Joe McIntryre have been using their veteran expereince to lead by example.
The Aggies will play six games in eight days from March 26-April 2.After facing Appalachian State, the team will travel to High Point University on Thursday, following a two game home series versus Florida A&M this weekend.South Carolina Upstate will host the blue and gold on April 1, before the battle of the Greensboro’s bragging rights at UNCG on the second.
- Daniel Henderson