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DURHAM, N.C. (www.NCCUEaglePride.com) – Mother nature may have moved first pitch back and flipped the Saturday doubleheader to Sunday, but it did nothing to slow down North Carolina Central University as the Eagles used solid pitching and timely hitting by a pair of sophomores to prevail in the series opener against MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) foe Savannah State University 3-2 on Saturday at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
Doubleheader action was scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday but torrential rain showers forced game officials to move back first pitch and switch the doubleheader to Sunday.  
 
NCCU senior Sam Fulmer (Raleigh, N.C.) and Savannah State sophomore Kyle McGowin went toe-to-toe on the hill with both teams shutting down their respective lineups through the first three innings.
 
Neither team recorded a hit until the third inning, but NCCU plated the first run of the day with one out in the bottom of the fourth when Carter Williamson (Roanoke, Va.) ripped a double down into the right field corner driving in Troy Marrow (Lutherville, Md.) which put the maroon and gray ahead 1-0. 
 
With two outs in the top of the fifth and Fulmer working on a one-hit shutout, he made one of his very few mistakes on the day as right fielder Uriah Virgo crushed his first career home run over the right field wall to knot the game up at one apiece.
 
The sophomore combination got back together in the bottom of the sixth when Marrow reached base after being plunked by a pitch, which was followed up by Williamson, who smacked a line-drive to centerfield in which SSU’s Joseph McCrary misjudged as it went over his head allowing Williamson to earn his first career triple as Marrow scored from first to put NCCU ahead 2-1.
 
Head coach Carlton Hardy’s hard-charging squad kept battling and it finally worked in their favor in the eighth inning when pinch-hitter Joshua Morales reached base after being hit by a pitch, and backstop Chris Arnold moved him up to second on a sacrifice bunt with one out.  That’s when leadoff batter Darien Campbell hit a ground ball to second baseman Tyson Simpson (Burgaw, N.C.) that skipped under his glove allowing Morales to score the unearned run from second base to tie the game at 2.
 
The maroon and gray threw the last punch with that same duo that scored each of the two previous runs of the game.  With one out, Marrow recorded his second single of the day to start the rally in which Williamson followed up with a single in which he advanced to second as SSU tried to cut off Marrow moving to third, putting runners at second and third with two outs.  Marrow plated the game-winning run on a passed ball which put NCCU ahead 3-2 heading into the ninth inning.
 
Savannah State went down in order in the ninth as junior Gavin Guarrera struck out the first two batters to earn his first win as an Eagle.
 
Despite earning a no-decision Fulmer pitched one of his best contests in a maroon and gray uniform going seven-and-one-third innings scattering four hits, one earned run, and a season-high seven strikeouts.  In his last two performances against Savannah State dating back to the 2011 season, Fulmer has allowed only three earned runs, and recorded 15 strikeouts in 14-and-two-thirds innings.
 
Williamson ended the afternoon by going 3-for-4 at-the-dish with a triple, double, and two RBI.  Marrow scored all three of NCCU’s runs along with a 2-for-3 effort at-the-dish.
 
Despite the loss, Savannah State (8-14, 2-2 MEAC) was led by Campbell who went 2-for-4 with a double.  McGowin went eight innings on the hill striking out five batters and managed to give up just two earned runs.
 
NCCU (4-19, 3-4 MEAC) looks to take only their second series from Savannah State since 2008 with doubleheader action slated for a 12:00 p.m. first pitch from the Durham Athletic Park, weather permitting. 
 
The NCCU Sports Network will be on the air at 11:45 a.m. with Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. as Chris Hooks will call the live action of the Sunday twinbill from the Durham Athletic Park.  Fans can access the broadcast by going to GameCentral on the front page of the website, while they can follow the game on twitter by following @NCCUAthletics and 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.