Box Score

Box Score


DURHAM, N.C. – The final game of the crucial MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) series featured a matchup of pitching and defense as Bethune-Cookman held off a late North Carolina Central University rally in the ninth to win 3-2 and take the series two-games-to-one on Sunday afternoon at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
After a scoreless first inning by both teams, the maroon and gray of NCCU struck first in the bottom of the second inning when junior Troy Marrow (Lutherville, Md.) crushed his first double of the year to the wall in left field.  The next batter, Carter Williamson (Roanoke, Va.) followed that up with a double down the right field line to score Marrow and put NCCU up 1-0.  Junior second baseman Dylan Drayton (Raleigh, N.C.) moved Williamson to third and Zach Lee (Wilson, N.C.) drove in the game’s second run with an RBI groundout to put the Eagles up 2-0.
 
B-CU returned the favor in the top of the third inning when Shawn McCarty led off the frame with a walk, and Brandon Turner singled.  Second baseman Eric Sams helped plate the first Wildcat run on a sacrifice fly, and a Matt Noble RBI single knotted the game up a 2-2.
 
The Eagles’ Sunday starter Terry McNabb (Davidson, Sask.) retired 12-of-17 batters from the fourth inning until the eighth, while B-CU hurler Montana Durapau retired 23 of the next 27 batters.
 
The score remain tied at two until the top of the eighth inning when a one-out walk and an Anthony Stokes double gave Bethune-Cookman the 3-2 lead.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, NCCU recorded two straight outs, and Marrow was plunked by a pitch to get a runner on.  Williamson singled to the right side to put runners on first and second with two outs.  Drayton ended the game striking out on a full count breaking pitch and the Wildcats held on for the 3-2 victory.
 
The Eagles were held to four hits with Williamson leading the way going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, while B-CU’s Anthony Stokes went 2-for-4 with a double, and a RBI.
 
In the loss, McNabb (2-2) threw 7.1 innings allowing only five hits and three runs with four strikeouts, while BCU’s (9-8, 5-1 MEAC) Durapau threw a complete game four hitter mowing down four maroon and gray batters to move to 3-0 in the year.
 
NCCU (9-7, 3-3 MEAC) will look to recover with a mid-week matchup against cross-town foe Duke University on Tuesday, March 12 at 6:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park. 
 
For more information about NCCU athletics, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.