Eagles drop pair to Tigers
SAVANNAH, Ga. – With the opportunity to stay on-pace with the top of the Southern Division, North Carolina Central University dropped both games against Savannah State in the shortened weekend series 6-3 in game one and 5-3 in game two to fall to 10-9 in league action on Saturday at Tiger Baseball Field in Savannah, Ga.
Game one of the series actually began on Friday in a rain shortened affair that lasted only one inning, NCCU found itself down 5-1 after a number of early miscues by the maroon and gray.
As the contest picked on Saturday afternoon in the top of the second inning, the Eagles plated a run on a RBI sacrifice fly by redshirt junior Eric Kimber to make it 5-2, as sophomore James Dey off the frame with a base hit.
Savannah State moved the margin back to four at 6-2 after plating a run on two hits as it ended up being the final run of game one for the Tigers as sophomore Alex Dandridge came on and put up his third straight solid performance on the hill.
A leadoff double to begin the sixth by senior Carter Williamson got the Eagles in business as Dey ripped an RBI single to drive in Williamson to make it 6-3.
The maroon and gray had a golden opportunity in the top of the seventh as the Eagles loaded the bases with one out and one of the hottest hitters on the team at-the-dish, but Williamson grounded into an inning ending 1-6-3 double play as SSU averted danger.
NCCU did not threaten against as Savannah State took game one 6-3, despite Dandridge’s excellent performance. The Arlington, Texas product threw seven innings, allowed only four hits and no earned runs with a season-high eight strikeouts.
Offensively, the maroon and gray outhit SSU 11-7 and left seven runners stranded in the loss.
Game two saw the maroon and gray jump out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning following back-to-back RBI singles by Williamson freshman Bryant Battle. Senior Zack Lee (Wilson, N.C.) led off the game with his ninth double of the season to get the Eagles on the board.
SSU knotted it up at 2-2 with one swing of the bat as first baseman Tre Sikes drilled a two-run homer to left centerfield which gave him his sixth round-tripper of the season.
Both teams went back-and-forth until the top of the fourth when sophomore Christian Triplett crushed his team-leading sixth home run of the year to left field, giving NCCU the 3-2 advantage.
Savannah State plated a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead as senior lefty Kevin Herilhy came on in-relief for the Tigers and threw 2.1 innings and kept the Eagle bats at-bay on the way to the game two victory.
In the second loss of the day, the Eagles were held to six hits as the maroon and gray was led by Lee’s 2-for-3 effort at the dish with a double and a run scored.
NCCU (15-24-1, 10-9) will only makeup the third game of the series unless it affects the standings heading into the conference tournament, as a date for the contest has not been set.
In the doubleheader, Dey led the Eagles going 3-for-4 (.750) with a run scored and an RBI, while Williamson went 4-for-7 (.571) with a double, a run scored and an RBI.
With Tuesday’s matchup against St. Augustine’s University cancelled, the maroon and gray get back to action on Wednesday, April 23 at 6:00 p.m. as the Eagles hit the road to battle Longwood University in midweek action at Bolding Stadium in Farmville, Va.
For complete story, visit www.nccueaglepride.com or www.ssuathletics.com
Hemmerich's Gem Sends NSU to Series Win
ANNE ARUNDEL, Md. – Freshman left hander Devin Hemmerich pitched 7.1 strong innings to send the Norfolk State baseball team to a 7-5 win over Coppin State in game 1 of the teams’ doubleheader on Saturday at Joe Cannon Stadium, clinching the Spartans’ series win over CSU.
The Eagles (9-25, 7-11 MEAC North) shut out NSU (15-21, 11-7) 3-0 in the nightcap to salvage one game of the squads’ four-game, two-day series. NSU had swept the first doubleheader on Friday and won five of six from Eagles during the regular season.
Hemmerich, NSU’s normal closer, was making his first start since March 10. He responded by tossing a season-high 7.1 innings, allowing just four hits and one run. He walked none and struck out four to run his record to 3-2 on the year.
NSU never trailed in game 1. Justin Burrell scored the Spartans’ first run in the second inning. He led off with a double off CSU starter Jhar Devilme and scored on James Essex’s fielder’s choice.
CSU tied it at 1-all in the bottom of the sixth on Jeffrey Fitch’s RBI single, but NSU quickly reclaimed the lead on an RBI double off the bat of Andre’ Moore in the top of the seventh.
Hemmerich came out of the game with runners on second and third and one down in the bottom of the eighth. NSU went to the bullpen and reliever Josh Vales got a come-backer for the second out and a groundout to shortstop to keep the Eagles off the board.
The Spartans extended their lead to 7-1 by plating five runs in the top of the ninth. NSU had six hits in the inning, including RBI singles by Cameron Day, Omar Hotusing and Burrell and a run-scoring double by Chase Kyriacou. Killian Strenn, who also had a hit in the inning, scored the inning’s fifth run on an Eagle error.
It turned out that NSU would need those insurance runs, as the Eagles mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth. CSU quickly loaded the bases off Vales with two singles and a walk. Chris Godfrey hit a two-run single and William Brown also tacked on an RBI single of his own to make it 7-4.
Jeff Di Fulgo came on in relief of Vales with the bases loaded and one out. NSU turned a bizarre, unconventional double play to end the game. John Walls hit a grounder to third and Burrell stepped on the bag for a force out. But Burrell’s throw to first to attempt to complete a double play was wild, allowing Godfrey to score from third. Pinch runner Jonathan Calvin, who was on first when the play began, tried to score after Burrell’s errant throw, but Day – the right fielder – chased the ball down and threw out Calvin at home to end the game.
NSU out-hit CSU 16-8 in the opener. The Spartans fourth through seventh hitters in the lineup – Day, Kyriacou, Burrell and Strenn – combined to go 11-for-18. Strenn was 3-for-3, Burrell and Kyriacou were 3-for-5 and Day was 2-for-5.
Godfrey was 2-for-4 with two RBI for the Eagles.
Game 2 was a brisk 94-minute, seven-inning contest that included just six total hits. CSU’s Will Grebenstein pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out six.
The Eagles scored all their runs in the third and all three were unearned. Miranda Bryant had an RBI double in the frame, which also included an error by NSU.
Day and Justin Lee had the two hits for NSU in the nightcap. Justin Bhatti (2-5) took the loss, despite allowing just three unearned runs in 3.1 innings of work.
The Spartans are off before their next MEAC series next Saturday and Sunday at Delaware State. The Hornets swept a doubleheader from UMES on Saturday, moving DSU (10-6) just percentage points ahead of NSU for the MEAC North division-lead.
For complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.nsuspartans.com
Delaware State takes two from Hawks
DOVER, Del. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore baseball team dropped a pair of games at Delaware State on Saturday afternoon as the teams split the weekend at 2-2. UMES fell in the opener 16-6, before losing by a score of 15-8 in the nightcap.
The decisions are one day off of UMES' sweep of Delaware State, where the men held their own with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's top team.
The opener started out on the wrong foot for UMES (11-22, 6-10 MEAC) as Delaware State (20-13, 10-6 MEAC) took a 6-0 lead after one inning. The Hornets jumped all over Hawk starter Philip Berry and tapped into the visitor's bullpen halfway through the first. Berry (1-5) was replaced by freshman Kameron Raison and Raison threw four innings of eight hit ball.
DSU would add four more runs over the next two innings to take a 10-0 lead, before a homer by senior Byron Campbell brought the game closer. The bomb was the first of the season for Campbell and third overall on the year for the Hawks.
UMES went quietly over the next two innings, but scored five in the seventh to make things interesting. Freshman Justin Dattilo and senior Jeffrey Fleetwood each singled to open the inning before scoring on singles by freshman Chris Adams and freshman Skylar Murray.
Campbell capped his 3-for-4 performance on the day with a two-RBI double to score Murray and sophomore Mike Escanilla.
Senior Stephen Bull extended his hit streak to 25 with hits in both contests, while freshman Skylar Murray went 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run. Murray's two-hit performance was his third for the Hawks this week as he is hitting 8-for-17 (.500) over the past five contests.
UMES fell 15-8 in the nightcap after DSU dominated play on both sides of the ball.
The men will take a few days off before returning to action on Tuesday, April 22 with a doubleheader at Georgetown University beginning at 5 p.m.
For complete story, visit www.umeshawks.com or www.dsuhornets.com
Aggies get key 4-3 victory against Wildcats
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Junior Brandon Wilkerson's RBI sacrifice fly in the seventh inning was the difference as North Carolina A&T defeated Bethune-Cookman 4-3 in MEAC baseball action Saturday evening.
The win pulls the Aggies (15-24, 8-10 MEAC) closer to earning a spot in the MEAC tournament May 14-18. They have won 4 of 6 from the Wildcats (20-23, 12-9 MEAC), who came into the weekend as southern division's first-place team.
John Pope, who entered the game at first base in the fourth inning, set the table for the Aggies. He scorched the first pitch he saw in the seventh down the left field line for his second double of the game. Junior catcher Lester Salcedo followed with a single up the middle to put runners at first and third with one out. Wilkerson then took the first pitch he saw from left-hand Wildcats reliever Riley O'Brien into center field for a fly ball out. It was enough, however, to score Pope for the game-winning run.
RHP Luke McCreesh, who came into the game with an ERA above 11, pitched a masterful three innings of relief. McCreesh (1-0) picked up the win by not surrendering a hit and only allowing one Wildcat runner to reach on a walk. O'Brien (0-4) took the loss. Bryant Munoz went 2-for-4 with two runs scored for the Wildcats. Austin Garcia added two hits and two RBI for the Wildcats.
Dylan Hipp, Salcedo and Pope had two hits apiece for the Aggies who will travel to Radford to face the Highlanders 6 p.m, Tuesday.
For complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com or www.bcuathletics.com