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DURHAM, N.C. – With the 2013 regular season complete, North Carolina Central University officially knows its opponent in the MEAC Baseball Championships as the South Division’s third seed will take on the host Spartans of Norfolk State University, who are the second seed from the North Division, in opening action on Wednesday, May 15 at 9:00 a.m. from Marty Miller Field in Norfolk, Va.
 
NCCU (25-27, 12-12) earned the third seed by virtue of its .500 record in league play as the Wildcats of Bethune-Cookman tied for first place with Savannah State at 17-7, but the Tigers earned the No. 1 seed through the league’s tie-breaking process.  So SSU will be the top seed while B-CU is now the No. 2 seed with both earning South Division Co-Championships. 
 
The 25 victories for second year head coach Jim Koerner and his squad is the most ever for a program that resurfaced in 2007.
 
The maroon and gray beat their opening round opponent, Norfolk State (18-27, 12-12 MEAC), 6-1 at the Durham Athletic Park back on March 7.  In that ballgame, junior lefty Jordan Quinn (Goldsboro, N.C.) earned his third consecutive win in seven solid innings of work surrendering three hits with two strikeouts.  The Eagles racked up 12 hits to just three for the visiting Spartans.
 
NCCU took a 3-0 lead on Norfolk State and never looked back as junior Dylan Drayton (Raleigh, N.C.) went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored.
 
Despite entering the championships on a four-game losing skid, the maroon and gray have plenty to be optimistic about as the bats have come alive through the last few contests.
 
The pitching staff enters the week with a combined 3.92 ERA which is No. 1 in the league, but in the last six games the Eagles have recorded 13 extra base hits and driven-in 32 RBI. 
 
Senior leadoff batter Akeem Hood (Raleigh, N.C.) is swinging the hottest bat going 9-for-22 (.409) in five games with three doubles, a triple, four runs scored, and four RBI.  Junior Tyson Simpson (Burgaw, N.C.) is hitting .400 over the last six contests going 10-for-25 at-the-dish with six runs scored, a double, a home run, and team-high eight RBI.

These two programs have met 12 previous times with Norfolk State holding a 10-2 edge over the Eagles with the first meeting taking place on March 9, 2008 when the Spartans upended NCCU 14-4.

The winner of the NCCU/NSU matchup will take on the winner of the No. 1 seed Savannah State against No. 4 seed Maryland Eastern Shore on Thursday, May 16 at 12:30 p.m. while whoever drops either contest will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 16 at 9:00 a.m. in the loser’s bracket of the tournament.
 
The NCCU Sports Network will have full coverage of the 2013 MEAC Championships as ply-by-play voice Chris Hooks will call all the live action at Marty Miller Field.  Tune in to the Champps Pregame Show 15 minutes before first pitch.  Fans are also encouraged to interact with Hooks during the broadcast by following @NCCUAthletics on twitter, using the hashtag #NCCUBaseball, and by sending an e-mail to whooks@nccu.edu.
 
Listed below is the schedule for the 2013 MEAC Baseball Championships:
 

Wednesday, May 15
Game 1: 9 a.m.			#2 North- Norfolk State vs. #3 South- NCCU
Game 2: 12:30 p.m.			#1 South- Savannah State vs. #4 North- UMES
Game 3: 4 p.m.			#1 North- Delaware State vs. #4 South- NC A&T
Game 4: 7:30 p.m.			#2 South- Bethune-Cookman vs. #3 North- Coppin State
Thursday, May 16
Game 5: 9 a.m.			Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2
Game 6: 12:30 p.m.			Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Game 7: 4 p.m.			Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
Game 8: 7:30 p.m.			Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4
Friday, May 17
Game 9: 10 a.m.			Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6
Game 10: 2 p.m.			Winner of Game 8 vs. Loser of Game 7
Game 11: 6 p.m.			Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10
Saturday, May 18
Game 12: Noon			Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7
Game 13: 5 p.m.			Winner of Game 11 vs. Loser of Game 12
Sunday, May 19
Game 14: 1 p.m.			Winner of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 13 Championship
Game 15: 5 p.m.			If Necessary

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.