DURHAM, N.C. (NCCUEaglePride.com) – This weekend, the North Carolina Central University baseball program will honor nine of its senior student-athletes who will don the maroon and gray uniform for the final time in the 2011 season as the host Eagles will take on soon-to-be fellow conference foe Coppin State University beginning with doubleheader action on Saturday, April 16 at 2:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park.
Douglas Dalley (Durham, N.C.), Robert Grant (Graham, N.C.), Blake Murray (Wendell, N.C.), Brandon Oatis (Matthews, N.C.), Edward Pegues (Laurinburg, N.C.), Timothy Rennard (Knightdale, N.C.), Drew Robinson (Carthage, N.C.), Brandon Strickland (Louisburg, N.C.), and Wesley Washington (Grapevine, Texas) will all be saluted by the Eagle faithful for their hard work and determination to the program.
The actual ceremony to honor those nine student-athletes will take place on Sunday prior to game three which is slated for a 12:00 first pitch.
Game one on Saturday will be broadcast live on the flagship station of the NCCU Sports Network, Rejoice 1410 AM, and will begin at 1:45 with Eagle Gameday presented by the Hilton RTP. Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks and Color Analyst, Kyle Serba, will call the action live from the DAP.
NCCU and Coppin State will be meeting in a three-game set for only the second time since the Eagles brought baseball back with the visiting Eagles taking all three contests last season away from the Bull City. Coppin State leads the series all time with a 5-2 mark. The only two losses came during the 2009 campaign beating CSU both at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and in the Charm City.
The Diamond Eagles will send junior Sam Fulmer (Raleigh, N.C.) to the mound for game one and the right handed hurler will be looking for a little redemption after a subpar performance against Florida A&M on Tuesday afternoon. The Rattlers got to Fulmer scoring seven earned runs while raking out 12 hits.
Game two on Saturday, sophomore Glenn Frye (Lillington, N.C.) will take the hill and the right handed pitcher has been mowing opposing hitters down lately to the tune of 17 strikeouts in the last 13 and one-thirds innings including a seven strikeout performance in the second game of Tuesday twinbill against Florida A&M.
The final game of the series, Robinson (5.98, 1-7) will take the rubber for the Eagles on Senior Day at the DAP. The righty is coming off a performance that should have yielded a win after going six innings and allowing just four earned runs after taking a 7-0 lead, but the Rattlers were able to battle back in the 12-9 win over NCCU on Wednesday as Robinson had to settle with a no decision.
Over the last six contests, one player has really been turning heads for the Eagle offense. Sophomore Nate Smith (Raleigh, N.C.) has been hitting a stellar .409 over that span with two triples, two home runs, and an eight RBIs for the maroon and gray. Freshman Dylan Drayton (Raleigh, N.C.) is not too far behind going 8-for-25 (.320) at the dish with a double, four runs scored, and five RBIs. Drayton needs just 11 hits to tie teammate Akeem Hood (Raleigh, N.C.) for the most hits in a season during the modern day era of NCCU baseball as he currently sits with 44.
Forecasters are predicting heavy thunderstorms for the Triangle area on Saturday and if that is the case, the series will then shift to two seven inning games the following day, otherwise on Saturday the first contest will go nine innings, followed by game two which will go just seven innings. Check out the website all weekend long for weather updates and changes to the broadcast schedule.
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