Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Box Score:  NCCU at B-CU (Game 1)             Box Score:  NCCU at B-CU (Game 2)


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – North Carolina Central University used a five-run first frame to set the tone in a crucial 10-0 game  two victory over host Bethune-Cookman University to earn the split after dropping game one 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Fla.
 
The shutout victory in the second contest sets the stage for the Eagles to earn a tie for first place in Sunday’s rubber match.  B-CU was shutout in conference play for the first time since March. 26, 2005 when the Wildcats lost to NC A&T 5-0 in Greensboro, N.C.
 
Bethune-Cookman plated the first run of the day in the bottom of the first inning on David Lee’s third double of the season to put the Wildcats up 1-0.
 
The maroon and gray answered in the top of the fourth after Ronald Thompson (Chadbourn, N.C.) drilled a one out double to give him five on the year, later scoring on Carter Williamson’s (Roanoke, Va.) sacrifice bunt to give the junior designated hitter 22 RBIs on the year.
 
B-CU return the favor on their ensuing at-bat when Eros Modena led off with a bunt single and later scored on Anthony Stokes’s seventh double of the year to put the Wildcats up 2-1.
 
In the top of the fifth, redshirt sophomore Eric Kimber (Greensboro, N.C.) ripped his second double of the year to lead off the frame.  Freshman James Dey’s (Charlotte, N.C.) sacrifice bunt moved Kimber to third as redshirt senior Akeem Hood (Raleigh, N.C.) helped tie the game at 2-2 with an RBI groundout.
 
B-CU made the final move in the bottom of the fifth scoring two runs to take a 4-2 lead on an RBI groundout and a Modena two out single to give the Wildcats the cushion they needed to hold on for the game one win.
 
Junior Scott Garner (4-4) earned the win by throwing 6.0 solid innings for B-CU with only one earned run allowed on three hits with five strikeouts, while junior hurler Terry McNabb (Davidson, Sask.) had nothing to hang his head about in taking the loss.
 
Game two started off with a bang for the Eagles as the maroon and gray scored five runs in the first inning on three hits that also included three walks chasing B-CU starter Ali Simpson from the ballgame with one out in the inning.  Heading into the bottom of the first, NCCU led 5-0.
 
The Wildcats threatened in the first inning after a Josh Johnson single, but a Glenn Frye (Lillington, N.C.) strikeout and groundout closed the door on the early threat.
 
In the second frame, a one out single by Matt Noble gave Bethune-Cookman life, but a flyout and a groundout quieted the Wildcat bats.
 
Over the next three innings, Frye retired nine straight batters that included a highlight-reel diving catch by Hood.
 
After the Eagles plated a run in the sixth on a Luis Diaz (Geneva, N.Y.) sacrifice fly earned him RBI No. 22 on the year, scoring Robert Hiatt (Wilmington, N.C.) who led off the inning with a walk.
 
NCCU plated the final four runs of the game in the top of the seventh to take a 10-0 advantage, and the maroon and gray finished out the shutout victory to earn the doubleheader split.
 
Frye (4-3) threw his third complete game of the year, recording his second shutout of the season, allowing just four hits with five strikeouts with one walk.  The right handed senior now has 191 career strikeouts to become the first modern era Eagle to record over 190 in a career.
 
Simpson (3-5) took loss going 0.1 giving up five runs on three hits in his shortest outing of the season.
 
This was the second time that B-CU (22-16, 11-6) has been beaten in MEAC play by double figures, the first coming on March 31 in a 14-2 loss to Savannah State.
 
Offensively the Eagles Spencer Franceschetti (Escalon, Calif.) who was 2-for-5 at-the-plate led a trio of Eagles (Thompson and Williamson), while Diaz recorded three RBI to lead the maroon and gray.  NCCU was aided by 11 B-CU walks issued in the contest.
 
With the win, NCCU (22-16, 10-6 MEAC) has broken the modern day record for victories in a season, passing the 2007 squad who amassed 21 wins in the program’s first year back.
 
If the maroon and gray win Sunday’s rubber match, the Eagles will be tied for first place in the MEAC’s Southern Division. 
 
The NCCU Sports Network will have full coverage of the MEAC series finale beginning with the Champps Pregame Show at 12:45 p.m. as play-by-play voice Chris Hooks will call the live action from Jackie Robinson Ballpark.  Fans are encouraged to interact with Hooks by following @NCCUAthletics on Twitter, by using the hashtag #NCCUBaseball, and by sending him an e-mail to either nccusn@NCCU.edu or whooks@NCCU.edu.
 
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.