DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University rallied from a 5-1 deficit on a six-run fifth inning, and held off High Point late for an 8-7 victory at the Durham Athletic Park on Wednesday, March 21.
 
After starting the series with HPU (10-10) by going 0-4, NCCU (16-7) has won three of the last four meetings with the Panthers.
 
HPU kept the Eagles off the board in the first three innings, and took a 1-0 lead after the second on an RBI single.  The Panthers tacked on one more in the top of the fourth before the Eagles put their first tally on the board by way of a deep fly to left field by Zach Michalski (Belews Creek, N.C.) to make the game 2-1.
 
HPU opened the gap again in the next frame, as Jordan Sergent (Chesapeake, Va.) hit a three-run home run to right-center to put the Panthers ahead 5-1 in the top of the fifth.  For the second game in-a-row, the Eagles had a big inning in the tank as the hosts were able to pull ahead 7-5 after a six-run inning.
 
NCCU scored the first two runs in the inning on a double from Andrew Valichka (Pedricktown, N.J.) and a single from Carter Williams (Brown Summit, N.C.).  Those runs came right before Dominc Cuevas (Gurnee, Ill.) cleared the bases with a three-RBI triple that one-hopped the wall in right-center, and he also came in to score on the same play on an error for the final run of the inning.
 
The Eagles held the slim two run lead until the top of the seventh when a key two-RBI double from JJ Woodard (Oviedo, Fla.) leveled the score at 7-7.  The score didn't remain tied for long as NCCU took advantage of a defensive miscue to score the eventual winning run on a two-out error in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Chris Kernen (Greensboro, N.C.) was called into the game late from the bullpen, and he turned in 2.1 innings without an earned run to close out the game and get his third win of the year.
 
Cuevas finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored, and Williams also recorded a multi-hit day for the Eagles with two hits and an RBI.
 
Blake Schunk (Brentwood, Tenn.) reached base all five times he stepped to the plate for HPU, as he went 4-for-4 with two doubles along with a walk, and touched home a team-high three times.
 
NCCU returns to MEAC Southern Division play on Saturday, March 24 as the Eagles welcome Savannah State to the Durham Athletic Park for a doubleheader at 1:00 p.m. to start a three-game weekend series.  Admission is free.