DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University concludes both its non-conference and road portions of its regular season schedule with three contests at local in-state competition. The Lady Eagles will first visit Campbell University for a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 22 and then play a single game at North Carolina State University on Thursday, April 23.
Wednesday, April 22 (6:00/8:00 PM)N.C. Central at Campbell
Buies Creek, N.C. (Amanda Littejohn Stadium)
LIVE AUDIO |
GAME 1 LIVE STATS |
GAME 2 LIVE STATS Thursday, April 23 (6:00 PM)N.C. Central at N.C. State
Raleigh, N.C. (Curtis & Jacqueline Dail Softball Stadium)
LIVE AUDIO |
LIVE STATS To keep up with all three road games, listen to the game broadcast at NCCUEaglePride.com or follow @NCCUAthletics on Twitter.
North Carolina Central University Softball The Lady Eagles are coming off a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) doubleheader split at Florida A&M University on Saturday losing the first contest 3-1 and winning the nightcap 4-1. NCCU is 16-23 overall. The 16 victories are the most wins in the program's NCAA Division I era.
Senior
Emerie Germ, who leads NCCU with a .378 batting average, will be trying to heat her bat back up by returning to non-conference play. The Lady Eagles' leader in home runs (6) and RBI (25) has batted .452 in 28 non-conference games this season (only .200 in 11 MEAC tilts).
NCCU continues to maintain a solid .296 team batting average with junior
Casey Hargett (.357) and sophomore
Dominique Wilson (.328) following closely behind Germ. Hargett has team-best totals of eight doubles and 26 runs. Wilson has chipped in five home runs, seven doubles, 19 RBI and 18 runs.
Junior
Demiree Briones (.280, 4 home runs) and sophomore
Brianna Hampton (.260, 22 RBI) have added depth to the Maroon and Gray lineup.
Wilson is coming off a hard-luck loss on Saturday despite tossing a "quality start" that is defined as a starting pitcher that tosses at least six innings with three or fewer earned runs allowed. Wilson (6-10) leads NCCU's rotation with a 3.96 ERA and 95 strikeouts. Junior
London Booker (9-13) paces the Lady Eagles' arms with nine wins and 119 innings pitched after tossing a complete-game victory on Saturday.
NCCU will be looking for its first program wins over both in-state foes. The Lady Eagles are 0-13 against Campbell and 0-2 against NCSU.
Campbell University Softball The Camels won their final two games against Gardner-Webb University to win its last Big South Conference series this past weekend. The victories helped Campbell get back to its winning ways after a slow start to April. The Camels were 18-13 in late March but have lost 12 of their last 17 games and will enter its home doubleheader against NCCU at 23-25 overall.
Campbell has a .288 team batting average with seven players who have over 100 at-bats all hitting over .250. Five seniors pace CU offensively in Ericka Nesbitt (.429), Stephanie Jones (.340), Brittany Bruce (.310), Kerstine Womack (.278) and Camise Patterson (.273) while sophomore Bailey Bjorson (.272) and freshman Chandler Patterson (.260) leads the younger Camels.
Statistical category leaders for Campbell include Jones with 17 stolen bases and 43 runs scored, Chandler Patterson with 34 RBI and Camise Patterson with eight home runs.
Sophomore Katie Baker (11-14, 3.07 ERA, 155.0 IP, 171 K) and senior Julia Callicutt (11-7, 2.52 ERA, 144.1 IP, 140 K) have toed the rubber most of the time for the Camels.
North Carolina State University Softball The Wolfpack enter the week with a 26-19 overall record and will play two games at Radford University before hosting the Lady Eagles on Thursday. N.C. State has been ranked as high as No. 25 in both NCAA Division I softball polls earlier this season.
Senior shortstop Renada Davis – a three-time All-ACC selection and the program's all-time home run leader with 59 homers – leads the Wolfpack with a .368 batting average, 13 doubles and 35 runs. The sophomore duo of Tyler Ross (.307) and Molly Hutchison provide additional thunder to NCSU's bats. Davis (9 home runs), Ross (10) and Hutchison (11) have hit a combined 30 homers and have amassed 90 RBI for a squad that is averaging nearly five runs per game.
Senior Emily Weiman, who was the 2013 ACC Pitcher of the Year, has hurled 70.9% of NCSU's innings and is 21-14 with a 2.45 ERA and has 241 strikeouts in 211 innings. Sophomore Courtney Mirabella (5-5, 3.02, 83.1 IP, 104 SO) has provided some relief for Weiman in the pitcher's circle.
