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DURHAM, N.C. – Sitting at 23-22 overall on the year with nine games remaining on the 2013 schedule, the North Carolina Central University baseball program hits the road for the final conference series against Florida A&M that begins with doubleheader action at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 with the series finale scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 28 at Moore-Kittles Field in Tallahassee, Fla.
 
Entering weekend play the Eagles are 10-11 in MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) action after getting swept last weekend by Savannah State, but if the maroon and gray rid themselves of the current five-game losing streak, NCCU could finish with a winning record in league action for the second consecutive year. 
 
NCCU is meeting Florida A&M (4-38, 3-15 MEAC) have met 18 previous times with the Eagles holding a 10-8 advantage entering weekend play.  In fact, the maroon and gray have won the previous nine matchups over the Rattlers with each game closely contested.
 
The Rattlers may have just four wins, but those numbers are deceiving and the talent on the roster is apparent.  Florida A&M is coming off a midweek split with Mercer who is one of the top mid-major schools in the country.  FAMU took game one 11-5, before dropping a 7-6 decision on Wednesday night to the Bears.  In the 11-5 victory over Mercer, the Rattlers collected 19 hits, while amassing 10 in the 7-6 loss.  Sophomore outfielder Kelvin Singletary recorded seven hits in a two-game span.
 
Florida A&M is let at-the-plate by outfielder Marlon Gibbs who is hitting .385 on the year with two doubles, and three triples.  First baseman Bennie Robinson tops the team with 14 RBI, while Singletary leads the roster with seven doubles on the year.
 
Despite the recent struggles offensively for NCCU, Luis Diaz (Geneva, N.Y.) leads the squad batting .308 with nine doubles, three triples, a home run and 24 RBI.  One student-athlete that is starting to come on strong is junior Ronald Thompson (Chadbourn, N.C.) who is hitting .294 in the last nine games with three doubles and three RBI.
 
Game one of the series, second year head coach Jim Koerner will start senior Michael Romano (Spotsylvania, Va.) for the 11th time this year.  Romano (2-7, 5.54 ERA) put together 6.1 gutsy innings last Saturday allowing only one earned run with four strikeouts in the 7-1 loss to Savannah State.  The lefty has 26 strikeouts with only 15 walks on the year.
 
Florida A&M will more than likely send out David Duncan (1-7, 4.87 ERA) to the mound for game one.  Duncan worked 7.1 strong innings for the Rattlers recording six strikeouts despite taking the loss.  Entering the weekend, the senior righty has worked 57.1 innings with 37 strikeouts and 22 walks.
 
Senior righty Glenn Frye (Lillington, N.C.) will make his final conference series start in game two slated for seven innings.  Frye (4-3, 3.84 ERA) is coming off another stellar outing where he threw 8.0 innings allowed just three hits with six strikeouts to give him 197 in his Eagle career.  In his last performance against FAMU, Frye earned the win going 6.2 innings with two earned runs on eight hits, mowing down four Rattlers in the 3-2 victory.
 
FAMU’s Heath Blackburn (1-8, 6.26 ERA) will toe-the-rubber for start No. 11 on the year in game two as he has worked 46.0 innings this season with 30 strikeouts and 19 walks.  In his last outing against NCCU, Blackburn took the loss but threw 6.0 solid innings surrendering just four hits while allowing three earned runs with three walks and four strikeouts.
 
Sunday’s series finale will see junior right hander Terry McNabb (Davidson, Sask.) take the hill for the Eagles.  McNabb (4-5, 3.66 ERA) has logged 64.0 innings and is currently second on the roster with 43 strikeouts and 13 walks.  In his last start against the Rattlers, McNabb went 8.0 innings with season-high eight strikeouts and gave up no earned runs as NCCU committed four errors in the 5-4 victory over FAMU.
 
William Carrasco (1-5, 5.47 ERA) is set to make start No. 10 for the Rattlers on Sunday having worked 51.0 innings and piled up 26 strikeouts and 28 walks on the year.  Carrasco put together a solid performance the last time he threw against the maroon and gray going 6.2 innings with only two earned runs allowed on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts in a no decision for the righty.
 
Coverage for the MEAC series will be provided by the NCCU Sports Network as play-by-play voice Chris Hooks will call the action from Moore-Kittles Field beginning with the Champps Pregame Show at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 27 and on Sunday, April 28.  Fans are encouraged to interact with Hooks by following @NCCUAthletics on twitter, using the hashtag #NCCUBaseball, and by sending an e-mail to 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.