Box Score
Box Score:  NCCU vs. Bethune-Cookman (2013 MEAC Baseball Championships)


NORFOLK, VA. – The opportunities were there for the taking for North Carolina Central University as the Eagles were eliminated by the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats by the score of 7-3 after leaving 12 men stranded on Friday night in the semifinals of the 2013 MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Baseball Championships at Marty Miller Field in Norfolk, Va.
 
The missed chances began in the top of the first when Luis Diaz (Geneva, N.Y.) reached base on a dropped fly ball by Wildcat second baseman Eric Sams that allowed Diaz to advance to second base putting a runner in scoring position with two outs.  Junior Troy Marrow (Lutherville, Md.) grounded out to shortstop to leave Diaz stranded.
 
That was only the beginning for NCCU, as Bethune-Cookman’s Brandon Turner got picked off at first base to put two outs on the board, but Sams crushed his second home run of the season to give B-CU the 1-0 lead.
 
After Eric Kimber (Greensboro, N.C.) singled and stole second, the Eagles ended up stranding him in the second frame.
 
B-CU’s Anthony Stokes led off the bottom of the second with a double to left center field and the Wildcats were able to manufacture another run to make it 2-0 after two complete.
 
After the Eagles left the bases full in the top of the third, the Wildcats added three more runs when Josh Johnson’s leadoff double and and Turner’s single up the middle made it 3-0 forcing head coach Jim Koerner to pull Ruben Rios (Fortuna, Calif.) in favor of Gavin Guarrera (Webster, N.Y.).  With two outs and two runners on, Eros Modena’s triple drove in Johnson and Sams that put Bethune-Cookman up 5-0.
 
NCCU finally plated two runs in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit to 5-2, highlighted by Cory Williamson’s (Greensboro, N.C.) third double of the year that drove in Kimber who led off the frame with a walk to make it 5-1, while the Eagles managed to load the bases, even scored the second run on a bases loaded walk, but could not bring anymore in, leaving the three men on base for the second straight inning.
 
Bethune-Cookman plated another run to make it 6-2 in the bottom of the fourth, but Guarrera found his groove and settled in against the vaunted Wildcat lineup shutting them down over the next three innings.
 
The Wildcat defense made a tremendous play in the fifth when Williamson and Kimber both reached on back-to-back singles putting the Eagles in prime position to get back in the ballgame, but James Dey’s (Charlotte, N.C.) hard line drive was snagged out of the air by Stokes who then dove and tagged out Kimber at first to double-up the maroon and gray, closing the door on the rally.
 
In the sixth inning, Diaz ripped double No. 14 of the year to right field to cut the margin to 6-3, scoring Spencer Franceschetti (Escalon, Calif.) who reached on a throwing error by Anthony Stokes.  Diaz went on to be stranded after Marrow flew out to left center field.
 
With one out in the top of the seventh, Kimber’s double down the right field line gave NCCU hope late in the contest, but could not materialize a run as the next two batters were retired.
 
B-CU added the game’s final run in the bottom of the eighth inning and held on from there for the 7-3 victory, which eliminated the Eagles from the MEAC Baseball Championships.
 
Despite the loss, Kimber went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored, while Diaz was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
 
Bethune-Cookman’s (33-24) Turner went 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored in the win for the Wildcats who will take on the loser of the Coppin State/Savannah State matchup for a birth in the Championship game at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
 
NCCU ends the 2013 season with a 27-29 mark and was led in the tournament by the duo of Kimber who went 9-for-19 (.474) with a triple, double, two RBI and five runs scored and Diaz who was equally impressive going 8-for-18 (.444) with three doubles, a triple, three runs scored and six RBI as the Eagles went 2-2 on the week.
 
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.