WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (Interstat) — North Carolina A&T rallied for three runs in the top of the ninth inning and survived a two-run bottom of the ninth by Monmouth to claim a 10-9 victory Friday afternoon at Monmouth Baseball Field.

The Aggies, who entered the game with a 14-37 record, evened the three-game Colonial Athletic Association series after losing 14-4 on Thursday. Monmouth fell to 28-21.

North Carolina A&T took the lead in the first inning on a run-scoring single by Marcus Bradshaw, but Monmouth answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a groundout by Wyatt Hunt and a wild pitch that scored Simmi Whitehill. The Aggies reclaimed the lead in the third when Luis Gomez launched a three-run home run to center field, scoring Andrew Tinsley and Bruce Wyche for a 5-2 advantage.

Monmouth chipped away with a run in the third on Hunt’s RBI single, but North Carolina A&T added a run in the fourth on a fielder’s choice by Bradshaw. The Hawks cut the deficit to 6-4 in the fourth when RJ Mustaro doubled down the left-field line, scoring Aidan Bretschneider.

The Aggies held the lead until the sixth inning, when Monmouth erupted for three runs to tie the game. Nick Lovarco singled and scored on a hit by Bretschneider. Mustaro then homered to left field, driving in Bretschneider and giving Monmouth a 7-6 edge.

North Carolina A&T responded in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with no outs, but managed only one run on a sacrifice fly by Bradshaw to tie the game at 7-7. The Aggies broke the tie in the ninth. With two outs and runners on second and third, JT Taylor walked to force in Nick DiCarlo. Reggie Tuggle then singled to right field, and a fielding error by the right fielder allowed three runs to score, making it 10-7.

Monmouth mounted a final threat in the bottom of the ninth. Chris Walsh reached on a hit-by-pitch, stole second, and scored on Hunt’s single to left. Whitehill followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 10-9. With one out, Brendan Buecker reached on a fielder’s choice, but pinch runner Will Fahey was caught stealing second to end the game.

Diego Barrett earned the win for North Carolina A&T, pitching 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing no hits and two earned runs with one strikeout. Gavin Sentell started and worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up five earned runs on no hits with one strikeout. For Monmouth, Austin Beard took the loss, allowing two earned runs on two hits in 3 1/3 innings. Colin Ruddy pitched one inning of scoreless relief.

Mustaro finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for the Hawks. Hunt was 2-for-5 with three RBIs, and Whitehill went 2-for-5 with an RBI. For the Aggies, Gomez was 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Bradshaw and Tuggle each had two hits and two RBIs. DiCarlo scored three times.

The game featured 11 hits for North Carolina A&T and nine for Monmouth. The Aggies used four pitchers and the Hawks three. Monmouth committed two errors, while North Carolina A&T had two errors, one of which led to an unearned run.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Monmouth 6, North Carolina A&T 2, and the Interstat ELO system gave Monmouth a 66.00 percent probability to win entering the contest. The teams close the series Saturday.