DURHAM, N.C. – With the conference schedule finished, the North Carolina Central University baseball program hits the road down to Boiling Springs, N.C. to face the Runnin’ Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb University in a weekend non-conference series beginning with doubleheader action on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 and ending with the series finale on Sunday at 1:00 at John Henry Moss Stadium.
 
These two programs have yet to meet on the diamond since the program returned, but the Eagles battled six of their fellow league members (Campbell, High Point, Longwood, Presbyterian, UNC Asheville, and Winthrop) in the last few seasons.
 
NCCU (25-23, 12-12 MEAC) is coming off its fourth series win of the season after taking two-of-three from the Rattlers of Florida A&M over the weekend where the Eagle bats came alive hitting .320 as a team with six doubles, one triple, two home runs, and 24 RBI.  The maroon and gray were also 12-for-13 in stolen bases.
 
Junior Tyson Simpson (Burgaw, N.C.) went 6-for-9 (.667 BA) in two games against the Rattlers that included his first home run of the season and six RBI, while freshman catcher James Dey (Charlotte, N.C.) slugged a .500 batting average (4-for-8) with his first career double and two RBI playing two of the three weekend contests.
 
Gardner-Webb (22-22-1, 8-9 BSC) is currently in third place in the South Division of the Big South Conference coming off a disappointing 9-7 extra innings loss to East Carolina.  GWU has dropped three of its last five contests and is led by one of the top pitching staffs in the conference as they currently sit third with an ERA of 3.27.
 
Senior Benji Jackson sits at No. 11 in the league with a .333 batting average while his teammate Brad Collins tops the team with 27 RBI.
 
Second year head coach Jim Koerner will send his usual weekend starters to the mound in this non-conference set as senior lefty Michael Romano (Spotsylvania, Va.) will make his final regular season start of his Eagle career.  Romano (2-8, 5.25 ERA) was very effective against Florida A&M in game one last Saturday, but four costly errors did him in as he worked 7.0 innings scattering seven hits with two earned runs and four strikeouts.
 
GWU will send Matt Fraudin (5-4, 3.26 ERA) to the mound for game one of the twinbill as the righty has logged 77.1 innings with 70 strikeouts, which is second in the Big South.
 
The second contest of the day is slated for seven innings as senior righty Glenn Frye (Lillington, N.C.) will take the mound looking for his sixth win of the season.  Frye (5-3, 3.84 ERA) threw a complete game against the Rattlers last weekend surrendering three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts to put him over the 200 mark becoming the first Eagle to do so in the modern era.  Frye has 202 strikeouts in his four year career at NCCU, while racked up 51 this season with only nine walks.
 
Andrew Barnett (3-2, 3.06 ERA) will toe-the-rubber for the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the last game on Saturday as the righty has logged 67.2 innings this season with 68 strikeouts and only 12 walks, which ranks him No. 28 in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.67).
 
The final game of the weekend will see junior righty Terry McNabb (Davidson, Sask.) who will make start No. 11 of the year.  McNabb (4-5, 4.19 ERA) has thrown 68.2 innings this season with 45 strikeouts which places him second on the team with 16 walks.  Last weekend against Florida A&M, McNabb went 4.2 innings allowing six earned runs to be handed a no-decision in the 15-11 series clinching victory over the Rattlers.
 
GWU’s lefty handed hurler Erik Heiligenstadt (4-3, 2.91 ERA) will take the hill for the series finale as he will make his ninth start of the season.  Heiligenstadt has allowed only 17 earned runs in 52.2 innings worked with 30 strikeouts.  Opponents are hitting .256 against him on the year.
 
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.