Box Score
Box Score (HTML)


DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) – The North Carolina Central University baseball team with four errors tied a season-high and hit into two inning-ending double plays as the University of Maryland Eastern Shore earned its first victory of the year in a 7-1 win over the Eagles on Wednesday night at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
In the eighth meeting all-time between these two programs saw the Hawks take the first lead of the day in the top of the second inning when catcher Brandon Schott hit a fly ball that junior left fielder Luis Diaz (Geneva, N.Y.)  mis-played off his glove allowing him to reach on the first of four Eagle errors on the day.  Shortstop Joshua James earned his fourth RBI of the season with a single that put UMES up 1-0.
 
The Hawks led the rest of the way and poured on three more runs in the top of the third inning after Jasper Jones (Hookerton, N.C.) walked the first two batters of the inning.  Third baseman James Newsome plated two Hawk runs with a double down the left field line while also advancing to third on a second Eagle error, putting the Hawks up 3-0.  Tre-Von Johnson’s first of two doubles on the night added the third and final run of the frame giving UMES the 4-0 lead.
 
After the Hawks added two more runs in the fourth inning, the Eagles tried to mount a rally in the bottom half of the frame putting runners at the corners with one out following back-to-back walks to begin the inning.  That’s when sophomore Carter Williamson (Roanoke, Va.) grounded into a double play giving UMES a boost in momentum.
 
In the sixth inning, NCCU finally got on the board when two UMES players collided with one another in shallow left field allowing Diaz to score from second base cutting the deficit to 6-1. 
 
The last Eagle rally attempt came in the eighth inning when Diaz ripped his first triple of his NCCU career.  After a Troy Marrow (Lutherville, Md.) walk, freshman Cory Williamson (Greensboro, N.C.) grounded into the second and final double play of the night.
 
After managing just one hit in the final inning the Eagles dropped the game 7-1 sending NCCU to its sixth straight loss.
 
UMES’s Bernard Parker (1-0) earned the win going five inning and allowing only two hits with four strikeouts, as junior Glenn Frye fell behind in his two innings of work to taking the loss and moving his record to 1-4.
 
Due to the number of Eagle errors, the Hawks managed to score just four earned runs in the victory.
 
Preseason All-MEAC member, Johnson finished the night for UMES (1-19, 0-3 MEAC) 3-for-5 with two doubles, a run scored and a RBI. 
 
For NCCU (3-19, 2-4 MEAC), Nate Smith (Raleigh, N.C.) was the lone Eagle to record multiple hits going 2-for-4 as the maroon and gray managed just five hits as a team.
 
After the disappointing loss, the maroon and gray shift their focus to this weekend when the Tigers of Savannah State University make the trip to the Bull City for a crucial three-game conference series which begins Saturday, March 24 with doubleheader action at 1:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
The NCCU Sports Network will follow every pitch of this weekend’s action beginning 12:45 with Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. on both Saturday and Sunday.  Play-by-play voice Chris Hooks will call all the live action for each contest this weekend.  Fans can also follow the games on twitter by following @NCCUAthletics and by using the hashtag #NCCUbaseball.
 
Stay up-to-date with North Carolina Central University Athletics by flying over to www.NCCUEaglePride.com, the official website of NCCU Athletics.