NCCU Baseball vs. Savannah State
Saturday, April 18 – 1:00/4:00 p.m. (doubleheader) / Sunday, April 19 – 1:00 p.m.
Durham Athletic Park (Free admission) DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University returns to conference play against Savannah State for a big weekend series at the Durham Athletic Park on April 18-19 with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. that Saturday. Game two of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. and the finale will be on Sunday, April 19 at 1:00 p.m. as well. Admission to all games is free.
The Tigers swept NCCU the last time the two teams met in Savannah, Georgia on March 14-15, so the Eagles will be looking to even the season series with a sweep that could potentially move them into first place in the Southern Division in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
With only two conference series remaining during the regular season, the race for the top of the Southern Division remains tight. NCCU (18-18, 11-6 MEAC) enters the weekend a half-game behind Bethune-Cookman (14-27, 12-6 MEAC) for first place. SSU (14-22, 7-8 MEAC) is three games behind Florida A&M (14-21, 10-8 MEAC) for third place, and the final spot for the conference tournament, so there is a lot on the line for both teams.
The two top pitching staffs in the league will duel this weekend, as NCCU continues to hold on to the best ERA in the league (3.67) with SSU standing second (4.63). Eagle right-hander
Cameron Scalzo (Rochester, N.Y.) has the second-best ERA in the league with an ERA of 2.19 and a record of 2-0, and Tiger starter Austin Denny (Springfield, Ga.) is right behind him with an ERA of 2.32 and a 3-2 record.
Also representing NCCU among the top ranked pitchers in the MEAC,
Alex Dandridge (Arlington, Texas) has the fourth-best ERA of 2.36 with four wins to his name without a loss, and
Devin Sweet (Greensboro, N.C.) also appears in the top 10 with an ERA of 2.82, good for sixth with a 4-2 record.
Charles Sikes (Hinesville, Ga.) leads SSU at the plate batting .326 with 17 extra-base hits. Sikes has 15 doubles over the season which leads the league, and also has the second-most hits in the conference with 42 and the second-most total bases with 63.
Carlos Ortiz (Cleveland, Ohio) is hot on Sikes' heels with 62 total bases claimed through the year with six homers, which ties him with two other players in the conference. Ortiz is currently hitting .319, and leads the club with 24 RBI.
All games this weekend will be carried live on the NCCU Sports Network, available at NCCUEaglePride.com. Live game updates will also be available on the official Twitter account of NCCU Athletics, @NCCUAthletics.
