FINAL SCORE 
North Carolina A&T 4 (11-21, 6-4 CAA)
Monmouth 3 (16-18, 4-6 CAA)

North Carolina A&T 9 (12-21, 7-4 CAA)
Monmouth 8 (16-19, 4-7 CAA)

GREENSBORO, NC – The Monmouth University baseball team fell in a pair of hard-fought games at North Carolina A&T in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) action on Saturday. 
 
The Aggies held off a late rally by the Hawks for a 4-3 victory in game one. In game two's back-and-forth battle, North Carolina A&T scored two runs in the ninth for the 9-8 victory.
 
Game One Recap:
The Aggies reached Monmouth starter Tommy Kent for a run in the bottom of the third and took a 1-0 advantage.
 
The home team tacked on three runs in the fourth and took a 4-0 lead in the game. 
 
The Hawks broke onto the scoreboard in the top of the eighth. Chris Andrews' sac fly scored Harry Padden. Base knocks from Chris Walsh and Nick Lovarco pulled the Hawks to within one, 4-3.
 
In the top of the ninth, the Hawks had the first two batters reach but North Carolina A&T was able to strand the runners and claim the 4-3 win.
 
Game Two Recap:
Monmouth got on the board first in game two as the Hawks scored four runs in the top of the first. Highlighting the action was an RBI single from Chris Walsh.
 
North Carolina A&T responded with six runs in the bottom half of the frame and took a two-run advantage. 
 
A two-run double from Jay Bant in the top of the second tied the game at 6-6.
 
A run in the bottom of the second gave the Aggies a 7-6 lead. 
 
Walsh scored the game-tying run on a fielder's choice in the top of the third.
 
Casey Caufield's two-out single in the top of the sixth scored Kenny Noe and gave the Hawks an 8-7 edge. 
 
The game remained that way until the bottom of the ninth as the Aggies loaded the bases with one out and scored two runs for the 9-8 win.

NOTES 
- The all-time series between the two sides is now tied at 2-2 after the Aggies sweep of the doubleheader. 
- It was the fourth doubleheader of the year for the Hawks. Monmouth is 4-4 in doubleheader action. 
- Harry Padden stole his 21st base of the season in game one. That gave him 50 for his career. He is the seventh player in program history and first since 2012 to steal at least 50 bases.
- Casey Caufield reached base in both games and extended his reached base safely streak to 30 straight games. 
- Padden reached base safely in both contests and extended his streak to 15 straight games.    

NUMBERS CRUNCH
Game One Numbers:
- Harry Padden had a pair of base knocks and now has 10 multi-hit games this season. 
- Chris Andrews picked up his team-leading fifth sac fly of the season. 
- Tommy Kent had four strikeouts and has now struck out at least four batters in five appearances. 
- Angel Ortiz got the win for the Aggies after giving up three runs in 7.2 innings of work.
- Kent took the loss after giving up four runs in four innings of action.
 
Game Two Numbers:
- Chris Walsh led the Hawks with three hits and now has 12 multi-hit games on the season.
- Jay Bant had two RBIs in game two and now leads the Hawks with 38 RBIs. He ranks second in the CAA for RBIs and has the most RBIs by a Hawk since Phil Stahl had 38 in 2023.
- Kevin Opanel had nine strikeouts for the Hawks in the game. It's the most strikeouts by a Hawk this season. His nine strikeouts are tied for fifth most by a CAA pitcher this season. 
- Taili Thompson earned the win for the Aggies with an inning of scoreless relief.
- Opanel suffered the loss despite going 7.2 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits.

NEXT UP
Monmouth and North Carolina A&T wrap up its series on Sunday, Apr. 13 at 1 p.m.