WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (Interstat) — RJ Mustaro hit two home runs and drove in four runs, but it was a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave Monmouth an 8-7 victory over North Carolina A&T on Saturday afternoon at Monmouth Baseball Field.

The Hawks trailed 7-5 entering the bottom of the eighth, but Mustaro’s second homer of the game tied the score. In the bottom of the ninth, Monmouth loaded the bases with one out before Diego Barrett, the Aggies’ fifth pitcher of the afternoon, uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Brendan Buecker to score from third and end the game.

JT Taylor led North Carolina A&T with a 2-for-2 performance that included two home runs and five runs batted in. His three-run homer in the second inning gave the Aggies a 3-2 lead, and his two-run shot in the eighth put them ahead 7-5.

Monmouth answered quickly in the bottom of the eighth. Nick Lovarco singled and Mustaro followed with his second homer, a two-run blast to center field that tied the game at 7.

The game featured six home runs overall. Chris Walsh homered in the first inning for Monmouth, and Lovarco also went deep in the seventh. Mustaro’s first homer, also in the seventh, cut the Aggies’ lead to 5-4 before Lovarco’s solo shot tied it.

North Carolina A&T starter Angel Ortiz pitched four innings, allowing two earned runs on no hits while striking out five. Kobie Cushing threw three innings and surrendered two earned runs on no hits with two strikeouts. Diego Barrett took the loss after recording just one out in the ninth.

Monmouth used six pitchers. Caden Carlin threw two scoreless innings with no hits. Kevin Opanel struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn the win. David Horvath allowed three hits and two earned runs over two innings but was charged with a blown save after Taylor’s eighth-inning homer.

The Aggies had eight hits and committed three errors. The Hawks collected 16 hits.

The victory improved Monmouth’s record to 29-21. North Carolina A&T fell to 14-38.

Mustaro had three hits in four at-bats. Over his previous four games, he had collected six hits, including two home runs and seven RBIs. Lovarco finished 2 for 5 with a homer.

For North Carolina A&T, Taylor’s two homers gave him five RBIs in the game. The Aggies had won the series opener Friday afternoon, 10-9, but lost the Thursday game 14-4.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Monmouth 6, North Carolina A&T 2, and its ELO system gave Monmouth a 65.20 percent probability to win.