Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4
All Results & Box Scores from Eagle Challenge  

PHOTO GALLERY  

DURHAM, N.C. – A pair of rookies, first baseman/outfielder Amber Kirkland and pitcher London Booker, led the way for the North Carolina Central University softball team during four setbacks in the weekend “Eagle Challenge” at Parkwood Athletic Field in Durham, N.C.

Kirkland (Raleigh, N.C.) pounded out a team-high five hits with a double and two RBI for a .417 batting average, while also collecting 13 putouts and an assist in the field.

Booker (Richmond, Va.) dazzled on the mound by recording 13 strikeouts with only six walks during 18.0 innings of action in three outings. Of the 21 runs scored against her, only eight were earned, as she achieved an ERA of 3.11 over the weekend.

Four Lady Eagles – Martha Batie (Harrisburg, Pa.), Angelique Perricelli (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), Markell Wylie (Fayetteville, N.C.) and Nadia Jefferies (Garner, N.C.) – each contributed three hits during the “Eagle Challenge,” with Perricelli also adding a team-best three runs scored.

On Friday (March 8), NCCU committed seven errors to aid Presbyterian in a 9-1 loss to the Blue Hose.

On Saturday (March 9), the Lady Eagles trailed Liberty 4-0 heading into the fifth inning, but then exploded for four runs to tie the game. Perricelli singled home Wylie, then Batie ripped a two-run single up the middle, and Kirkland came through with a two-out RBI single to even the score in the fifth.

Liberty responded with four runs of its own in the sixth, three of which were unearned, to seal the 8-4 victory for the Lady Flames.

On Sunday (March 10), NCCU took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Joy Simpson grounded out to score Jefferies, who reached on a single to right field. That lead held until Liberty plated two runs in the third to pull ahead of the Lady Eagles.

The two squads battled the next three innings until Amber Donovan’s two-run home run over the center field fence provided Liberty with enough cushion for the 4-1 victory in game one.

In game two on Sunday, Liberty broke open a 7-1 contest by amassing nine runs, all but one run unearned, in the fourth inning to cruise to a 16-3 win.

NCCU was also scheduled to play UNC Wilmington on Saturday, but the game was canceled.

Up next, the Lady Eagles travel to Princess Anne, Md., to challenge Maryland Eastern Shore in a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 13.

For more information about NCCU softball, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.