Box Score
NORFOLK, Va. – Led by a resurgent offense and a clutch pitching staff, the Norfolk State baseball team pulled off the improbable by winning its fourth straight game in the loser's bracket and exorcised some demons along the way by defeating No. 2 North Carolina A&T 10-5 on Saturday night at Marty L. Miller field to advance to Sunday's championship round.
The Spartans (25-23) had lost all four games to the Aggies (29-30) this year, including a 4-2 heart-breaker in Thursday's opening round. NSU had also been eliminated from the MEAC Tournament by N.C. A&T an eye-popping six straight years, including a 5-0 defeat in the loser's bracket final of last year's tourney.
But this year the roles were reversed, with the Aggies coming off an afternoon loss in the winner's bracket final to B-CU like NSU last season. The Spartans turned the tables by claiming a 4-0 lead in the first and hanging on behind a pitching staff which has surrendered just three earned runs over 44 innings of tournament play.
Frankie Caldeyro (Portsmouth, Va.) got the win, improving to 2-4. In his 17th appearance, but first start, of the year, Caldeyro allowed the potent Aggie offense just four runs, one earned, over 7.1 innings.
NSU touched up A&T starter Donald Howerton (2-6) with four two-out runs in the top of the first. Brad Stephenson (Chesapeake, Va.) started the rally with a long double to the wall in left. He scored on an RBI single by John Boyd III (Hempstead, N.Y.). After Chris Joyce (Chesapeake, Va.) was hit by a pitch, Anselmo Cantu (Virginia Beach, Va.) cleared the bases with a two-run double to right. TiQuan Griffin (Florence, S.C.) capped the rally with an RBI single to center.
A&T picked up a run in the first and two more on a Lester Rivenbark single in the second. But NSU scored twice more in the third when Stephenson, who walked, came home on a balk. Griffin then struck again with a two-out RBI triple, for a 6-3 advantage.
The lead swelled to 8-3 in the fourth when Boyd drew a bases-loaded walk and Joyce lined a sacrifice fly to left.
A&T could only manage two more runs, one in the fourth and one in the ninth, as a result of two NSU errors.
Stephenson, Joyce and Griffin had two hits apiece. Boyd, Joyce, Cantu and Griffin drove in two runs each, and Stephenson and Joyce each scored three times.
Sunday's championship round begins at 2 p.m. The Wildcats (35-20) need just one victory to claim their ninth conference title in the last 10 years, while NSU needs to win twice to capture its first-ever title. NSU is making its fourth MEAC Tournament championship appearance, and first since 2005.
