Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Game One (HTML)      I      Game Two (HTML)

SAVANNAH, Ga.  – With the opportunity to stay on-pace with the top of the Southern Division, North Carolina Central University dropped both games against Savannah State in the shortened weekend series 6-3 in game one and 5-3 in game two to fall to 10-9 in league action on Saturday at Tiger Baseball Field in Savannah, Ga.
 
Game one of the series actually began on Friday in a rain shortened affair that lasted only one inning, NCCU found itself down 5-1 after a number of early miscues by the maroon and gray.
 
As the contest picked on Saturday afternoon in the top of the second inning, the Eagles plated a run on a RBI sacrifice fly by redshirt junior Eric Kimber (Greensboro, N.C.) to make it 5-2, as sophomore James Dey (Charlotte, N.C.) led off the frame with a base hit.
 
Savannah State moved the margin back to four at 6-2 after plating a run on two hits as it ended up being the final run of game one for the Tigers as sophomore Alex Dandridge came on and put up his third straight solid performance on the hill.
 
A leadoff double to begin the sixth by senior Carter Williamson (Roanoke, Va.) got the Eagles in business as Dey ripped an RBI single to drive in Williamson to make it 6-3.
 
The maroon and gray had a golden opportunity in the top of the seventh as the Eagles loaded the bases with one out and one of the hottest hitters on the team at-the-dish, but Williamson grounded into an inning ending 1-6-3 double play as SSU averted danger.
 
NCCU did not threaten against as Savannah State took game one 6-3, despite Dandridge's excellent performance.  The Arlington, Texas product threw seven innings, allowed only four hits and no earned runs with a season-high eight strikeouts. 
 
Offensively, the maroon and gray outhit SSU 11-7 and left seven runners stranded in the loss.
 
Game two saw the maroon and gray jump out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning following back-to-back RBI singles by Williamson freshman Bryant Battle (Greenville, N.C.).  Senior Zack Lee (Wilson, N.C.) led off the game with his ninth double of the season to get the Eagles on the board.
 
SSU knotted it up at 2-2 with one swing of the bat as first baseman Tre Sikes drilled a two-run homer to left centerfield which gave him his sixth round-tripper of the season.
 
Both teams went back-and-forth until the top of the fourth when sophomore Christian Triplett (Wilkesboro, N.C.) crushed his team-leading sixth home run of the year to left field, giving NCCU the 3-2 advantage.
 
Savannah State plated a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead as senior lefty Kevin Herilhy came on in-relief for the Tigers and threw 2.1 innings and kept the Eagle bats at-bay on the way to the game two victory.
 
In the second loss of the day, the Eagles were held to six hits as the maroon and gray was led by Lee's 2-for-3 effort at the dish with a double and a run scored.
 
NCCU (15-24-1, 10-9) will only makeup the third game of the series unless it affects the standings heading into the conference tournament, as a date for the contest has not been set.
 
In the doubleheader, Dey led the Eagles going 3-for-4 (.750) with a run scored and an RBI, while Williamson went 4-for-7 (.571) with a double, a run scored and an RBI.
 
With Tuesday's matchup against St. Augustine's University cancelled, the maroon and gray get back to action on Wednesday, April 23 at 6:00 p.m. as the Eagles hit the road to battle Longwood University in midweek action at Bolding Stadium in Farmville, Va. 
 
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