March 10, 2010

Final Stats

DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com)- The North Carolina Central University baseball team had one of its best offensive days of the season, only to see that effort fall by the wayside as Norfolk State used timely hitting in the sixth and seventh innings of both contests to pull away for the doubleheader sweep 14-2, 18-6 on Wednesday afternoon at the Durham Athletic Park.

Game one saw Norfolk State belt their way to a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second inning thanks in part to a pair of two-run homers by Blaze Zielman and John Raspberry for the Spartans.

Sophomore Anthony Wilson (Fort Washington, Md.) led off the bottom of the second inning with his first hit of the season, a double to deep center field that nearly left the park. Wilson would then steal third and home to score the Eagles first run of the day.

Norfolk State returned the favor in the top of the third, scoring two more runs to grab a 6-1 edge. Wilson came back up in the fourth inning and hit a bomb to left field off the brand new scoreboard at the DAP to pull NCCU within four at 6-2. Thanks to gutsy pitching by Drew Robinson (Carthage, N.C.) the score stayed that way until the sixth and seventh inning where the Spartans reeled off eight unanswered runs to take game one by the final score of 14-2.

Game two saw Durham native Douglas Dalley make his first start of the season, and Dalley didn't disappoint while the Eagle offense stayed with the Spartans for much of the contest.

Norfolk State struck the initial blow in the first inning behind a Brandon Hairston solo shot giving the Spartans the 1-0 lead. NCCU tied the ballgame up in the second inning when star of the day Wilson drove in Kurt Wilson (Riverdale, Ga.) with his second double of the day, this time to right center field to knot the ballgame up at 1-1.

In the top of the third Hairston struck again with a two-run home run to give NSU its fourth of the day and a 3-1 lead. The Eagles once again returned the favor in the bottom half of the inning with one out and two runners on as freshman Nate Smith (Knightdale, N.C.) hit his first career triple giving him his first two RBIs at NCCU tying the ballgame up at 3-3 after three complete innings.

NSU's Corey Lynch led off the fourth inning with a triple and was driven in by catcher Ryan Montgomery's double to right center giving the Spartans the lead back at 4-3.

Norfolk State added another run in the fifth after doubles by Hairston and Lynch to grab hold to a 5-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the fifth.

That's when the Eagles dug deep and battled back thanks to a throwing error that allowed freshman Jake Winstead (Bunn, N.C.) to score and cut the deficit to one at 5-4.

After a scoreless sixth by Norfolk State, NCCU struck what was thought to be the final blow in the bottom of the sixth when Jake Winstead drove in both Edward Pegues (Laurinburg, N.C.) and Tim McAllister (Raleigh, N.C.) to give the Eagles its first late inning lead of the season at 6-5.

The top of the seventh inning saw the Spartans save the best for last. Norfolk State (6-5-1) scored 13 runs on nine hits along with two NCCU errors to pull away and finish off the twinbill sweep with a 18-6 win.

All told on the day, NCCU was outscored in the sixth and seventh inning of both ballgames 21-2, but two student-athletes that really shined for the maroon and gray were Wilson and Winstead. In two games, Wilson went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two stolen bases, one home run, and two RBI, while Winstead came off the bench to go 2-for-2 at the plate with 2 RBI.

After a day to recover, NCCU (0-10) gets back to it grind as they host the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College in the second of three doubleheaders this week beginning at 3:00 p.m at the Durham Athletic Park. Admission is free.

To stay up-to-date with NCCU Athletics, log on to NCCUEaglePride.com, the official website of the NCCU Athletics Department.