NCCU Falls to Holy Cross

After taking Saturday off due to the forecast of inclement weather, North Carolina Central offense continued to struggle in the final game of the weekend mustering up just seven hits and allowing the Holy Cross Crusaders to get an early 5-0 lead that held up in a 7-1 loss at Campbell's Taylor Field on Sunday afternoon.

Holy Cross came out swinging in the top of the first inning as the Crusdaers knocked two doubles that helped drive in three runs and put the visiting team up 3-0 from the get-go.  The one saving grace of the frame was backstop Carter Williamson (Roanoke, Va.) who cut down two Crusader runners trying to steal, minimizing the damage early.

After a scoreless second inning Holy Cross came right back at NCCU with two outs in the top of the third that included a Jordan Enos double down the left field line to drive in Mike Ahmed to put the Crusaders up 4-0.  The second and final run of the frame came after Enos advanced to third base on a balk which was followed up by an RBI single by Chris Sintetos putting the score at 5-0 heading into the bottom of third.

The Eagle offense finally showed some life in the bottom of the fifth trailing 5-0, when Troy Marrow recorded the first hit of the day for NCCU with a double down the left field line giving the sophomore his second double of the season.  Senior Ross Plummer followed that up with a single to center field putting the maroon and gray on the board at 5-1 with no outs.  The Eagles were able to load the bases with one out but left three runners stranded in the frame.

The bottom of the sixth saw NCCU record back-to-back hits by Nate Smith and Luis Diaz to put runners on first and second with no outs, but the Eagle offense ran out of gas to leave two more runners stranded in the inning to remain down 5-1 after six.

Holy Cross put the Eagles away in the visiting half of the ninth inning with two runs on four hits that included the Crusaders fifth double of the afternoon putting the tally at its final resting place at 7-1.

The Eagle offense mustered up just seven hits but Marrow was the lone Eagle to record multiple hits on the day going 2-for-4 at the dish with a double, while Plummer's only hit of the day was an RBI single to give him two RBI on the season.

The loss is the Eagle's sixth in-a-row and drops their record to 1-10 on the season as senior righty Sam Fulmer took the loss going six innings and recording six strikeouts on the day to even up his record at 1-1 on the year.

For the complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com

 

HORNETS DROP TWIN-BILL TO NJIT

Dover, Del- NJIT was down to its final out when Matt Weckerle hit a grand slam to lift NJIT to a 4-2 win over Delaware State and a doubleheader sweep of the Hornets at Soldier Field.

The Highlanders (4-2) collected 23 hits en route to an 18-4 victory in the opener.

The seven-inning nightcap was scoreless until the Hornets (2-2) broke through with two runs in the last of the sixth. Joey Babuca singled to lead off the inning. Cameron Cecil and Ryan Haas followed with singles to load the bases. Babuca and Cecil scored when Eddie Sorondo laced a single up the middle to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead.  DSU had four of its five hits in the sixth inning.

NJIT starter JP Roche (2-0) retired the next three batters in order to avoid further damage by the Hornets.

In NJIT's final at bat, DSU starter Matt McClain (0-2) retired the first two batters before Ed Charlton reached base on an error. Mike Rampone followed with a single and Jeff Pizzi was hit by a pitch to lead the bases for the Highlanders.  Weckerle then cleared the bases with a drive over the right field fence to give NJIT a 4-2 lead.
Roche retired the Hornets in order in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win for the Highlanders.

In the opener, Tom Bouck was 5-for-7 with a homer and three runs batted in, and James D'Aloia had four hits and three RBI to lead NJIT.
Charlton and Roche also drove in three runs, while Rampone had a solo homer for the Highlanders in the nightcap.

NJIT scored at least one run in eight of the nine innings, including five in the sixth and four in the eighth.

Troy Drummond was 2-for -5 with a two-run homer and Cecil added two hits for Delaware State in the opener.

For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornet.com