NORFOLK, Va., May 8, 2024 - No. 4 North Carolina Central defeated No. 5 South Carolina State to kick off the 2024 MEAC Softball Tournament. NCCU will take the field again at 3 p.m. facing off against No. 1 Morgan State. 

As a team, NCCU hit .261 with six hits, four walks and no strike outs. North Carolina Central second baseman Kendall Smith led all players at the plate going 3-of-3 while pitcher Jaden Davis pitched all seven innings striking out eight batters and giving up just one hit.

Each team recorded a base hit in the first inning but could not bat around for a score. In the second, NCCU’s Kylie Nelson hit the ball to second base and the Bulldogs defense recorded a double play 4-6-3 to close the inning.  

N.C. Central’s Davis pitched 1,2,3 in consecutive innings the third and fourth as the Eagles held the Bulldogs scoreless. 

In the bottom of the fourth, North Carolina Central loaded the bases as Makiya Graves recorded an RBI single to score Samaria Jackson taking a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning. Neither team scored in the fifth after the Bulldogs went sent back to the dugout one, two, three. 

The sixth inning saw both teams leave runners stranded before Davis sent the SCSU batters back in order in the top of the seventh to secure the win for the Eagles. 

North Carolina Central is back on deck for game 3 when they face top-seeded Morgan State for a 3 p.m. first pitch.