North Carolina A&T sophomore Marquis Riley extended his hitting streak to 18 games by singling through the left side in the eighth inning for a game-winning RBI as the Aggies defeated Coppin State 5-3 Thursday afternoon in the first game of the 2010 MEAC Baseball Championship tournament at Jackie Robinson Park.

The Aggies (29-24) will advance to play at 2 p.m. on Friday. The Eagles (13-32) will play Friday morning at 10 a.m.

Coppin State's Mark Reynoso went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Dan Gleiberman was 2-for-2 with an RBI single. A&T designated hitter Nick Rogers led the Aggies with a 3-for-4 performance that included two runs scored, two RBIs and a solo home run.

With the game tied at three, Rogers led off the Aggies eighth with a single to left field. Runners were placed on first and second when Coppin State starter Tim Pomierski hit Xavier Macklin with an 0-1 pitch. Riley then stepped up and drove a Pomierski fastball to left for a 4-3 Aggies lead.

After Macklin and Riley moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, MEAC Rookie of the Year Kelvin Freeman added an insurance run for North Carolina A&T with a sacrifice fly to left that scored Macklin.

The Eagles were able to put two runners on in the ninth, but Aggies reliever Garrett Braun got Dwight Robinson to fly out to center field to end the game. Braun earned his sixth save of the season. Brent Moore (6-4) picked up the win in relief. Pomierski (4-7) went eight  innings and struck out four.  

The 2010 MEAC Baseball Championship Tournament continues with #1 Bethune-Cookman facing off against #6 Maryland Eastern Shore at 2 p.m.  #3 Norfolk State will take on #4 Delaware State in final game of the day beginning at 6 p.m. The action continues on Friday and Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. A complete bracket is available on www.MEACsports.com

The championship finale is set for Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m. and will air on ESPNU in a tape-delayed format on May 24 at 5 p.m.  The broadcast will be the MEAC's first televised baseball championship.   

Admission for the 2010 MEAC Baseball Championship is $4 for children (13 and under), students and seniors and $8 for adults.  Discounted ticket packages are available for all three days at a cost of $12 for children, students and seniors and $20 for adults.  Tickets can be purchased at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark, 105 E. Orange Ave., Daytona Beach, Florida beginning on May 20. 

For more information on MEAC Baseball, visit www.MEACsports.com