North Carolina Central rallies to defeat Furman
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Trailing 2-0 in the ninth inning with two outs, the cardiac Eagles of North Carolina Central University scratched out two runs to send the game into extra innings, then held off the host Paladins of Furman University in the 10th inning to pull off the 3-2 upset at Latham Stadium in Greenville, N.C.
The win gives the Eagles three come-from-behind wins in the four games as the maroon and gray took down Savannah State in stylish fashion with two walk off wins. It is also NCCU’s first-ever win against a team from the Southern Conference on the road.
The two out error by Furman allowed two Eagles to score and knot the game at 2-2 after the maroon and gray offense struggled to get going all day.
With one out in the 10th inning, senior shortstop Zack Lee singled, followed up by a failed pickoff attempt which allowed him to move over to third base. After a Carlos Ortiz walk, Tyson Simpson drove in the winning run on fielder’s choice as Lee crossed the plate to give the maroon and gray their first lead of the day at 3-2.
The only offense Furman (8-13) mustered in the final frame was off an error as the Eagles held on for their third win out of the last four contests.
The Paladins took a 1-0 lead in the fourth off a Carter Grote home run to left field and made it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Freshman Dylan Beiland threw perhaps his best game as an Eagle as the lefty threw 5.2 innings surrendering just two runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Junior reliever Kyle Shields put in three innings of work allowing no runs on no hits with three strikeouts to earn his first win as an Eagle.
Senior Carter Williamson was the lone Eagle to record more multiple hits but Ortiz ripped the only extra base hit of the day for NCCU.
NCCU (8-12-1, 5-4 MEAC) has now won three of its last four and will turn its focus to the Sunshine State as the Eagles head down to Tallahassee, Fla. for a big MEAC swing against the Rattlers of Florida A&M.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com
Bethune-Cookman Capitalizes on Jacksonville Miscues in 6-2 Midweek Win
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (12-10) kept continual pressure on Jacksonville (5-13) in the early innings of Wednesday night’s non-conference tilt, capitalizing on the Dolphins' mistakes to build a lead in the 6-2 win.
Freshman third baseman Austin Garcia gave the Wildcats their first scoring opportunity in the bottom of the second, reaching base on balls as the leadoff batter and shortstop Jordan Robinson took the next pitch through the left side. Left fielder Eros Modena followed with a single up the middle to bat in Garcia and give the Wildcats the early advantage. Robinson scored the Wildcats’ second run of the frame, rounding third for home on an error by JU catcher Braddock Rowe.
The Wildcats went back to work in the third, opening with catcher Zach Olszewski scoring on Robinson’s double down the left field line. Eric Sams and Robinson both came home on an error by JU second baseman Jordan Mullis, allowing designated hitter Bryant Munoz to take first. Center fielder Jake Welch bunted for a base hit to cap off the scoring, opening the door for Munoz to score on the second error of the inning, pushing the Wildcats on top, 6-0.
The Dolphins added a pair in the top of the fourth on a Scott Schaub single and a fielder’s choice for Rowe, narrowing the Wildcats’ lead to four runs. However, B-CU starter John Sever combined with relief efforts from Christopher Waltermire, Scott Garner and Michael Austin to keep JU scoreless through the final five frames.
Sever (2-1) earned the victory, throwing five complete innings, striking out four batters. For the Dolphins, first reliever Will Flor (0-2) took the loss, surrendering all six runs, two earned, in 1.2 innings on the mound.
Olszewski and Robinson led the Wildcats at the plate on the night, with Olszewski batting 2-for-3 with one run, and Robinson 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
The Wildcats return to action on Friday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, opening a three-game series with Central Connecticut State (2-4). The Blue Devils have spent the past week in Florida taking in games, falling 6-1 to Connecticut in 10 innings on Wednesday night in Winter Haven.
For complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
Coppin State drops decision to Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. – It’s an experience that Coppin State head baseball coach Sherman Reed believes will yield huge rewards in May.
That the Eagles dropped a 13-2 decision to Auburn Wednesday afternoon in the series finale at Plainsman Park was irrelevant. After facing a consistent diet of 89-92 mile-per-hour flamethrowers throughout the two-game series, the Eagles headed back to Baltimore with a stronger belief that this season will end in a good way.
Coppin State (4-11 overall) battled and displayed plenty of fight against the Tigers (15-7), who are ranked among the top 30 baseball teams nationally. Pacing the Eagles offense against Auburn was freshman Randal Mendez and junior Michael Wright, both of whom had two hits each. Mendez and Wright also had doubles for the Eagles, who had seven hits as a squad.
Coppin State executed perfectly in the top of the first inning to grab a 1-0 lead. Taking advantage of a pair of walks, shortstop Dave Hamlett gave himself up for the good of the team by laying down a perfect bunt to move John Walls and Dalton Cozart into scoring position. Following a walk to Jack Kraft, Darien Percell gave the Eagles the lead with a sacrifice fly.
For Kraft, he has reached base safely in every game this season for the Eagles. Mendez had his third multi-hit game of the season while Percell reached base safely for the 10th straight game.
Meanwhile, Wright, who entered in the fifth inning had a memorable afternoon that included scoring Coppin State’s second run of the game. Wright led off the fifth with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He scored when Hamlett again made a quality out with a ground out to short.
Wright opened the seventh with a leadoff single for his first multi-hit game of the season. He had three hits in the two-game series. Coppin State also had its first two runners on base in the sixth inning when William Brown and Mendez opened the frame with singles.
Coppin State continues its six-game road trip with a key three-game series against Delaware State on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. This will be the first of nine meetings against the Hornets, who are the reigning MEAC Northern Division champions.
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com
Hawks cannot hold early lead in loss to UNC Greensboro
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team held an early lead against UNC Greensboro, but the Hawks could not hold on, as the men fell to the Spartans, 16-5, at UNCG Baseball Field.
Sophomore Mike Escanilla posted three hits for the second time in the past three games but the Hawks could not register double-digit hits for the second consecutive game.
With the decision, UMES falls to 3-12, while UNCG evens its tally at 10-10.
UMES did not wait long to put the pressure on Spartans. With two away, senior Byron Campbell reached on an error and advanced to second on a wild throw. UNCG starter Andrew George kept Campbell at second after fanning freshman Justin Dattilo, who came into the game leading the Hawks with a team-high 14 RBI.
The Hawks struck first blood in the game when freshman Brock Long singled up the middle to move over freshman Skylar Murray, who earlier reached on a fielders choice. Freshman Chris Adams ripped a liner down the right field line to score Murray, before senior Stephen Bull tripled home a pair two batters later.
The 3-0 UMES lead did not last for long, as the Spartans chased UMES starter Chipper Smith from the game with four in the bottom half of the frame. UNCG's Hunter King doubled in a run to bring the Spartan deficit to within one and L.J. Kalawaia had a two RBI single to tie the game. UNCG made it five runs in the frame a short time later to take a 5-3 lead.
UMES scored one in the fourth on an RBI flyout by Adams, but the Spartans extended their lead to five with three unearned runs in the fifth.
The contest went quiet as the teams combined to score just two runs over the next three innings. It was a six-run push by the Spartans in the eighth that blew the game out of proportion as UNCG went on to its ninth game in the past 13 games.
UMES was led by Escanilla, who was 3-for-4 with three assists. Adams and Bull each had two RBIs and one hit, while Turlik scored a pair of runs and walked twice. Smith (0-3) was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs (four earned) in 2.1 innings. U
The Spartans were paced by Sean Guite, who was 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBI. Guite and leadoff hitter Zac MacAneney (three runs, three RBI) each homered in the game, while Julian Abreu was 3-for-5 with 10 putouts. UNCG starter Andrew George picked up the win after allowing six hits and four runs in five innings. The Spartans threw three players in relief and held the Hawks to one run the rest of the way.
UMES resumes play this weekend when the Hawks host Norfolk State for a three-game set. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.