GREENSBORO, N.C. – Gardner-Webb dropped the opener of the final Big South Conference baseball series of the season Thursday night, falling 6-3 at North Carolina A&T.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (21-33, 10-12 Big South) had their four-game win streak snapped as the Aggies (14-37, 2-20 Big South) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first.

Gardner-Webb rallied with a run in the second and two more in the fourth to tie the game.

Peter Capobianco pounded a solo home run to left with one out in the second to pull the 'Dogs within 3-1 and AJ Jones came through with a two-out double to get things going in the fourth. Alex Ray followed with a single up the middle to trim the lead to one and Jacob Marcos roped a double into the gap for a 3-3 score.

The Aggies took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the sixth and tacked on an insurance run in the seventh.

Marcos led off the seventh with a double but was stranded on third and Capobianco reached with a walk in the eighth. Gardner-Webb was retired in order to end the game.

Ace Joe Simeone (8-6) was tagged with the mound loss, allowing six runs on eight hits over 7.1 innings of work. Kyle Skidmore finished the game with 0.2 innings in relief.

Marcos was strong in the leadoff spot, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, accounting for nearly half of Gardner-Webb's eight hits. Jones (2-for-4) and Ray (2-for-4) each had two hits on Thursday. Capobianco's home run was the other hit for GWU.

North Carolina A&T managed nine hits, with three different batters collecting two each. Evan Demurias (2-3) was lights out in 5.0 innings of relief for the win, allowing just one hit with five strikeouts and a walk.

The two teams will get back to action on Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm in the second game of the series.