April 8, 2010

Final Stats

FARMVILLE, VA. (NCCUEaglePride.com)- The North Carolina Central University baseball team took on its second straight opponent from the state of Virginia on Thursday afternoon as the Longwood University Lancers piled on 10 runs in the first three innings, and despite a late Eagle rally, the Lancers galloped to the 15-6 win at Lancer Stadium in Farmville, Va.

Freshman Nate Smith (Raleigh, N.C.) got his first career start on the mound and this is one first he'll want to forget as he was tagged with eight runs yet only six of the runs were earned. NCCU began the ballgame off with a fielding error that gave Longwood all the help it needed to have a six-run first inning. All totaled, the Lancers racked up five hits and were assisted by two Eagle errors in the frame to storm ahead in the first.

In the top of the second inning, sophomore Anthony Wilson (Fort Washington, Md.) got NCCU's first hit of the day. Wilson advanced all the way over to third base only to be left stranded keeping the Eagles off the board.

Longwood went right back to work in the bottom of the second inning as shortstop Scott Kimble walked followed by a Justin Lacy RBI double, and an RBI single by Robby Newman that put the Lancers up 8-0 after two complete innings.

In the top of the third inning, the Eagles had three different runners on base following an Akeem Hood (Raleigh, N.C.) single, Justin Goodson (Stone Mountain, Ga.) reaching on a fielder's choice, and Smith got on base on a Longwood fielding error, but NCCU still couldn't put a run on the board and still trailed 8-0 heading into the bottom of the third.

LU put the final touches on the great start with two more runs, including a leadoff home run by Robbie Bailey that gave the Lancers a 10-0 cushion after three complete innings.

NCCU finally got on the board in the fourth inning when Robert Grant drove in his second run of the season. Goodson scored on a walk, and Smith drove in his 10 RBI of the year to rack up three runs and keep the Eagles in the ballgame trailing 10-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth.

Fast forward to the bottom of the fifth, Longwood piled it on scoring four more runs behind three doubles including a base-clearing three RBI double to left field by LU's Dustin Sollars that put the Lancers up 14-3.

Longwood scored its final run off the bat of its leading hitter Phil Cerreto whose fifth home run of the season gave the Lancers a 15-3 lead it would never relinquish.

An RBI single by Anthony Wilson, and an RBI double to left centerfield by Edward Pegues (Laurinburg, N.C.) added two more runs on the board to cut the deficit to 15-5 in the top of the seventh inning.

The Eagles scored the game's final run in the eighth on Wilson's RBI groundout that put the score at its final resting place at 15-6.

NCCU (0-29) was led by Anthony Wilson who had another stellar day at the plate going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored in the loss.

The Eagles focus on its next opponent, Savannah State University, who comes to the Bull City for a three-game weekend set on Saturday, April 10 with a doubleheader scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.

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