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DURHAM, N.C.  – North Carolina Central University made it five consecutive wins on the week after piling on 14 hits, holding the volatile North Carolina A&T lineup to five hits, and getting another clutch performance on-the-hill from an Eagle starter as the maroon and gray finished off the weekend sweep 12-3 over the Aggies on Sunday afternoon at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
The win puts NCCU in first place in the MEAC's (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) Southern Division with three conference series left. 
 
The maroon and gray threw the first haymaker on Sunday on sophomore catcher James Dey's (Charlotte, N.C.) frozen rope double to the wall in right centerfield scoring senior Carter Williamson (Roanoke, Va.) and freshman Bryant Battle (Greenville, N.C.) to plate the first two runs of the day, putting the Eagles up 2-0.  Sophomore Kory Wood added the final run on a RBI single that scored Dey and gave NCCU a 3-0 advantage.
 
The always dangerous NC A&T lineup did damage in the third inning with two outs on the board after a miscue by the Eagle defense, the Aggies tied the game up on first baseman Cameron Jergens RBI double off the rightfield wall and Stefan Jordan's RBI single, but Jergens was gunned at home keeping the game knotted up at 3-3.
 
Battle's RBI single in the bottom of the third scored senior Tyson Simpson (Burgaw, N.C.) to snatch the lead back at 4-3.
 
The maroon and gray added another run in the fifth inning to take a 5-3 advantage and did not stop there adding two more in the sixth frame on Simpson's two RBI single to make it 7-3.
 
While NCCU added to the lead, sophomore righty Alex Dandridge kept the Aggies off the board.
 
The game took a turn in the seventh and eighth innings when NC A&T head coach Joel Sanchez along with three other players got tossed.  A&T hurler Hugo Mercedes was thrown out for intentionally hitting two batters, while All-MEAC performer Luke Tendler and Kyle Clary were also ejected in the contest,
 
NCCU went on to win the game 12-3 after scoring a combined five runs in the controversy filled seventh and eighth that included an RBI double by sophomore outfielder Carlos Ortiz (Cleveland, Ohio) down the right field line. 
 
Dandridge earned his first win as an Eagle with a season-high seven strikeouts in seven innings of work as he gave up no earned runs and just four hits in the victory.
 
Five different Eagles recorded at least two hits led by Williamson and Wood who both recorded three hits on the day.  Wood finished the day 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Williamson was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and reached via a hit-by-pitch.
 
NCCU (14-17-1, 9-5 MEAC) gets back to action on Tuesday, April 8 at 6:00 p.m. against crosstown foe Duke University at Jack Coombs Field in Durham, N.C.
 
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