Box Score

Box Score:  NCCU at Davidson


DAVIDSON, N.C. – With the game tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh, Davidson used back-to-back home runs to pull away from visiting North Carolina Central University to take the final contest of the regular season 6-4 at Wilson Field in Davidson, N.C., sending the Eagles to their fourth straight loss heading into the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Tournament.
 
In the 11th meeting between these two programs, NCCU took the first lead of the day in the top of the third inning when sophomore Cory Williamson (Greensboro, N.C.) drilled his second double of the year down the first base line.  Senior Luis Diaz (Geneva, N.Y.) drove in RBI No. 30 on the year with a single up the middle to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
 
Davidson returned the favor in the bottom half of that frame with two outs when leadoff batter David Daniels ripped his fifth double of the year, then Michael Zeblo creamed his sixth home run of the season to right field to give the host Wildcats a 2-1 advantage.
 
After an Andrew Barna solo shot put Davidson up 3-1 in the fourth, the resilient maroon and gray answered with two runs in the top of the fifth with one out when both Williamson and Hood reached on back-to-back walks when Tyson Simpson (Burgaw, N.C.) doubled down the left field line to make it 3-2, scoring Williamson on the play.  Diaz recorded his second RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly to right field to tie the game at 3-3.
 
The Wildcats answered right back in the bottom-half of the fifth when Ty Middlebrooks ripped a double and was driven in by Daniels’s first triple of the year to put Davidson back up 4-3.  Fortunately for the Eagles, DC managed just one run in the frame as the next three batters popped out leaving Daniels stranded at third.
 
Moving to the top of the seventh, the maroon and gray swung right back at the Wildcats with one out when Williamson reached base on a Davidson error later advancing to third on Hood’s fourth double of the season.  NCCU tied the game at 4-4 later in the frame on Simpson’s RBI groundout.
 
The final blow of the night was throw in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs when Daniels and Zeblo went back-to-back to stretch the lead to 6-4 and held on from that point to earn the season split and the 6-4 victory over the Eagles.
 
NCCU (25-27) earned its fourth straight defeat, but was led offensively by Hood and Williamson who went a combined 4-for-7 at-the-plate with four runs scored, and two doubles.  Simpson and Diaz both drove in two RBI in the loss.
Davidson (16-30) saw Daniels fall a single shy of the cycle going 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple, a double, with two runs scored and two RBI.  Zeblo was 2-for-4 with two home runs, two runs scored and three RBI.
 
The maroon and gray have completed its second season at the NCAA Division I level earning the most victories since the program restarted in 2007 with 25 victories.
 
Next up for the Eagles, opening round action of the 2013 MEAC Baseball Championships taking place May 14-19 at Marty Miller Field in Norfolk, Va.  NCCU is the No. 3 seed out of the Southern Division and will play Wednesday, May 15 at 9:00 a.m. against the No. 2 seed from the Northern Division.
 
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.