April 10, 2010

Final Stats

DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com)- 30 games of frustration came to a screeching halt on Saturday afternoon at the Durham Athletic Park as the North Carolina Central University baseball team earned its first win of the season in game one of the twinbill with the 7-6 victory only to fall in the second contest 17-3 splitting the doubleheader against Savannah State University.

The day's first game saw the Eagles leave three runners stranded in its first two at-bats, and cut off Savannah State's Julius Green at home plate in a run down in the top of the third keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard before exploding in the bottom of the frame for six runs on four hits. It all started on Akeem Hood's (Raleigh, N.C.) third double of the season and the NCCU offense rolled from there. Senior infielder Justin Goodson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) singled putting two runners on and advanced to second on a throwing error by Savannah State pitcher, Mark Sherrod, that scored Hood and the Eagles drew first blood taking a 1-0 lead. Back-to-back walks by Nate Smith (Raleigh, N.C.) and Derrell Parker (North Miami Beach, Fla.) loaded the bases with no outs and then sophomore Anthony Wilson (Fort Washington, Md.) singled to left field driving in two runs giving the Eagles a 3-0 advantage with no outs. An Edward Pegues (Laurinburg, N.C.) RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly by sophomore Ross Plummer (Winston-Salem, N.C.) gave the Eagles a 5-0 lead that was capped by Kurt Wilson's first home run of the season to right center field giving NCCU a 6-0 lead after three innings.

Savannah State fought back with a run in the fourth on an Eagle error, then scored two more in the fifth to cut the deficit in half at 6-3 on Matt Nowacki's double to left center field.

With the Eagles on top 6-3 in the sixth the Tigers were able to get a runner all the way over to third base with one out, but clutch pitching by the junior righty Jeff Citero (Raleigh, N.C.) forced a pop out and a groundout putting clamps on the rally attempt by SSU.

The drama all unfolded in the final inning of game one as the Tigers mounted one last rally to tie the ballgame up at 6-6 thanks to both Citero and freshman Glenn Frye (Lillington, N.C.) combining to hit three SSU batters along with allowing two run-scoring hits in the frame to set the stage for the suspenseful ending.

Anthony Wilson led off with a double that went over the head of Kevin Herlihy in centerfield. His fourth double of the season ignited the Eagle rally which was followed by Edward Pegues reaching on a fielder's choice while Wilson advanced over to third base with no outs. Plummer was intentionally walked loading the bases and gave senior Kurt Wilson (Riverdale, Ga.) his time to shine. After taking the first pitch for strike one Wilson crushed a line drive to left center field that sent the Eagles to the victory. His second RBI of the day was the game-winner for NCCU as Anthony Wilson was mobbed at home plate by his teammates, ending a 30-game losing streak dating back to the season finale in 2009.

Frye (1-6) earned his first collegiate victory but Citero should be commended on his effort going a strong six innings allowing only four earned runs on seven hits keeping the Eagles in front for most of the ballgame. Senior Kurt Wilson shined bright at the plate in game one going 3-for-3 and was a triple away from the cycle with a home run, a double, and the game-winning single. His counterpart on the left side of the infield, Anthony Wilson, went two-for-two with a single, double, and two walks in the win.

The jubilation from the game one victory was short-lived for NCCU as Savannah State led game two off with back-to-back walks followed immediately by Johnathan Ross's sixth homerun of the season that found the Eagles immediately down 3-0 in the the top of the first. The onslaught continued as game two starter Douglas Dalley (Durham, N.C.) walked five batters in the first frame. Add that to Chris Arnold's double down the left field line that brought in two more runs, along with a Julius Green RBI single, and a Blake Lee sacrifice fly and SSU took a 7-0 lead in the first inning.

The Tigers never looked back scoring four runs in the third and fifth inning along with two runs in the sixth to pull away for the 17-3 win in game two to even the weekend series at one game apiece.

Game two hurler for Savannah State, Kevin Herilhy, pitched a gem of a ballgame for the Tigers scattering four hits and allowed just two earned runs in five innings. Leading the way for NCCU who had only five hits in the loss was Parker going 2-for-3 with his 11 RBI of the season, and Goodson who went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored.

Savannah State had four players with two hits in the ballgame as they racked 13 hits and were aided by three Eagle errors.

NCCU (1-30) looks to win the rubber match on Sunday afternoon at the Durham Athletic Park. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m. Tune in to Eagle Gameday brought to you by the Hilton RTP beginning at 11:45 as play-by-play voice of the Eagles, Chris Hooks, counts down to first pitch in the series finale between the Diamond Eagles and the Tigers.

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