Box Score
Box Score
DURHAM, N.C. – Things looked gloomy for the North Carolina Central University baseball team after the visiting Lancers of Longwood University jumped out to a 9-1 lead after just two innings.
In the third inning, however, NCCU turned the heat up on a cold Monday night at the Durham Athletic Park by scoring 11 runs on 10 hits, including a go-ahead three-run home run by senior designated hitter Carter Williamson, then fought off Longwood the rest of the way for a 16-12 win.
The towering blast was Williamson's team-leading third home run of the season. He finished the contest with two hits, two runs scored and four RBI to increase his team-best total in that category to 17.
NCCU's first two batters in the line-up reached base five times each. Leadoff hitter and senior shortstop Zack Lee had just one hit, but he walked three times and was hit by a pitch, while freshman second baseman Jared Kehagias had two hits, three RBI and three walks.
The Eagles' leading hitter, senior Tyson Simpson, improved his batting average by going 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI and two walks.
While the offensive onslaught garnered much of the attention, with NCCU pounding out a season-best 15 hits, it was the relief pitching of junior Kyle Shields that saved the day. Shields entered the game in the fourth and proceeded to pitch five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits with five strikeouts. He has yet to allow a run in nine and two-thirds innings pitched this season.
Junior hurler Morris Jones, who took the mound in the second inning, was credited with the win for the Eagles, his first of the season.
Longwood (5-8) was toped by Kyri Washington and Alex Owens. Washington went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, three RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Owens also hit 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, but he did much of his damage with a two-run home run in the fourth inning. Designated hitter Cory Ramsey chipped in with a grand slam to spark the Lancers' five-run first inning.
NCCU (3-8-1) returns to the diamond on Saturday, March 8 to open up a three-game weekend series at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
For more information about NCCU baseball, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network mobile app for iOS or Android devices.
