March 26, 2008

Final Stats

DURHAM, N.C. - North Carolina Central University committed five errors resulting in seven unearned runs as Duke University defeated the host Eagles 10-2 in the inaugural meeting between the two Durham schools.

An NCCU record crowd of 1,017 witnessed the historic contest inside the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Sophomore second baseman Gabriel Saade led the Blue Devils' offense with three hits and three RBI. Sophomore center fielder Alex Hassan also had three RBI, including a two-run home run over the DBAP's "Blue Monster," and scored three times.

Duke sophomore hurler Jonathan Foreman allowed only one hit and one unearned run with five strikeouts in five innings of action to earn the victory, as the Blue Devils improved to 21-5 on the season.

NCCU junior center fielder Oliver Jenkins accounted for two of the team's five base hits, and scored in the bottom of the ninth inning on an RBI single by rookie catcher Robert Grant. The Eagles other run came in the second inning when Kyle Davis, who reached on a third-strike wild pitch, scored on a passed ball. First basemen Tye Gray and Greg Pickett also singled for NCCU (6-17).

Sophomore pitcher Alex Weathersby took the loss for the Eagles, scattering seven hits and allowing only two earned runs with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings on the mound.

The Blue Devils and Eagles meet again on April 15 at 7 p.m. on the campus of Duke University at Jack Coombs Field.

NCCU returns to action on Saturday (March 29) with a doubleheader against Shaw University at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the final home date of the season. First pitch is at 1 p.m.

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THE HERALD-SUN NEWSPAPER (www.heraldsun.com)

Devils get past NCCU for city win at DBAP

By MIKE POTTER : The Herald-Sun (mpotter@heraldsun.com)

Mar 27, 2008

DURHAM -- Everybody seemed to get a little something out of the two Durham universities' historic first baseball meeting on Wednesday night.

Duke (21-5), which has its best team in at least a decade under third-year coach Sean McNally, got a 10-2 win over N.C. Central and got a chance to play at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

NCCU (6-17), which is in its first season of NCAA Division I play and only its second season since reviving a program that had been dormant since 1975, got to play for the first time against an established national Division I program. And except for kicking the ball around five times in the field, the Eagles were fairly competitive.

Leadoff man Alex Hassan hit his second homer of the season, scored three runs with three RBIs to lead a 10-hit Duke attack. Gabriel Saade added three hits and three RBIs for the Blue Devils, while Jeremy Gould had a double and an RBI and Jake Lemmerman chipped in a pair of hits and an RBI.

"This was great," said McNally, whose team has not lost to a team ranked lower than No. 17 nationally. "What an opportunity! Our guys were really excited to be here.

"We played OK. Central played hard, and their starting pitcher kept us off-balance a little bit."

Oliver Jenkins had two of the Eagles' five hits, while Robert Grant added an RBI single.

"Errors are what's been killing us all along," said NCCU coach Henry White. "Sometimes they're in the infield and sometimes in the outfield, and sometimes both like tonight.

"I'm glad Duke is having a great season and happy for the opportunity to play them. They showed our guys where we want to be."

Duke starter Jonathan Foreman (1-0) went five innings and allowed an unearned run on one hit with five walks and five strikeouts.

"I didn't have my best stuff tonight," Foreman said. "But I made a few pitches when I had to, and they helped me out by swinging at a few that weren't in the strike zone."

NCCU starter Alex Weathersby (0-3) lasted 5 1/3 innings and allowed eight runs -- only two earned -- on seven hits with six walks and four strikeouts.

"All my pitches were working pretty well," Weathersby said. "I think some of the guys were in awe of Duke when we took the field. But we're going to play them more times during my career, and next time I don't think we'll be playing the name on the front of the jersey."

The Blue Devils scored four runs in the second inning, two of them earned. Tim Sherlock began the rally with a one-out single to right before Ryan McCurdy was hit by a pitch. Monroe loaded the bases with a single to left before Hassan walked for the first run. Lemmerman reached on an error to shortstop David Scott to score McCurdy. Jeremy Gould then hit a sacrifice fly to center before Saade scored the fourth run on a single to left.

NCCU cut it to 4-1 in the bottom of the frame, as Kyle Davis reached on a one-out wild-pitch strikeout, took second on another wild pitch and eventually scored on a passed ball.

But Duke took control with four more runs on two hits in the third, with the highlight a two-out, two-run single from Saade.

Hassan put Duke up 10-1 with one out in the seventh, lifting a 1-1 pitch over the Blue Monster wall in left just inside the foul pole.

"I think it was a slider," Hassan said of his homer. "I just liked the opportunity to play in this ballpark. We were all pretty excited about it."

NCCU rallied in the ninth. Jenkins led off with a single to short that shortstop Lemmerman misplayed to allow him to advance, then scored on Grant's single.

"Duke has a good team, but we beat ourselves," Jenkins said. "And we all loved the crowd tonight. They definitely helped keep us in the game."

NOTES -- Attendance was announced at 1,017, the largest NCCU crowd in DBAP history and the third largest crowd to see Duke play in Durham this season behind a pair of home games against UNC. ... The return match is April 15 at Duke's Jack Coombs Field. ... NCCU hosts Shaw in a 1 p.m. Saturday doubleheader that closes out the Eagles' home season. ... Duke hosts Miami on Friday at 7 in the opener of a three-game ACC series.