DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – With the weight of a ten-game losing streak on their shoulders the North Carolina Central University baseball team has plenty of opportunities over the next few weeks to get rid of that streak beginning with two midweek road games beginning at Davidson College on Tuesday night at 6:00 at Wilson Field in Davidson, N.C. and Wednesday evening at 6:00 at Taylor Field in Buies Creek, N.C. against Campbell University.
On Tuesday, March 29 the Eagles and the Wildcats will meet for the sixth time since 2009 with Davidson leading the series 5-0, including a four-game sweep last season. The Wildcats come into the week with an 11-12 over record including a 5-6 mark inside the Southern Conference. Davidson is led by outfielder Drew Gadaire who is batting an astonishing .432 at-the-plate with six doubles on the season along with one home run and 14 RBIs.
Senior right hander Douglas Dalley (Durham, N.C.) will toe the rubber for maroon and gray for his fourth start of the season. His last appearance on the hill came against Charlotte last week when he became the first Eagle to record 100 career strikeouts and he certainly did his part in keeping NCCU tight with the Forty Niners for five innings as he allowed no earned runs in the 9-2 loss last Wednesday.
The following day, NCCU will battle the Camels of Campbell University as these two programs will meet for the tenth time in the modern era of Eagle baseball with the Camels holding a 9-0 advantage. Entering the week the Camels are 11-14 overall and just 1-8 in the Atlantic Sun Conference and are led by senior infielder Ellis Lowe who is hitting .381 on the season with 10 doubles and 21 RBIs, good enough for second on the team. Last season, the Camels swept the Eagles in four straight ballgames on back-to-back days.
Freshman Jacob Russell (Winston-Salem, N.C.) will look for a little redemption after lasting just an inning against Delaware State on Sunday. Russell cruised through the first inning, but walked five batters in the second frame to allow the Hornets to gain the 6-0 lead. He’ll make his seventh start of the season on Wednesday.
After those two mid-week contests, the Eagles will then return to the homestead for nine straight games to begin the month of April which will start with a three-game weekend series against future conference foe, Savannah State University. Doubleheader action is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park.
Each and every game this week can be heard online as play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, will call the action beginning 15 minutes before each game with Eagle Gameday presented by the Hilton RTP.
Stay up-to-date with NCCU Athletics by logging onto www.NCCUEaglePride.com, the official website of the North Carolina Central University Athletics Department.
