DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University softball team will be trying to continue its great success at Parkwood Athletic Field this season when the Lady Eagles host Bethune-Cookman University in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) three-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 7-8.
Tuesday, April 7 at 1:00/3:00 PMBethune-Cookman at N.C. Central
Durham, N.C. (Parkwood Athletic Field)
NCCU AUDIO Wednesday, April 8 at 12:00 PMBethune-Cookman at N.C. Central
Durham, N.C. (Parkwood Athletic Field)
NCCU AUDIO To keep up with all three games of the league series, listen to the game broadcast at NCCUEaglePride.com or the NCCU Sports Network mobile app, or follow @NCCUAthletics on Twitter.
North Carolina Central University
The Lady Eagles enter the series having dropped five straight road games last week including a doubleheader at Charlotte and a MEAC Southern Division series at Savannah State. NCCU (14-17 Overall, 0-3 MEAC) looks to get back in the win column at Parkwood Athletic Field where the Lady Eagles boast a 7-1 record.
NCCU continues to maintain the highest team batting average in the MEAC at .296. The Lady Eagles are led by senior catcher/outfielder
Emerie Germ (.447), sophomore pitcher/first baseman
Dominique Wilson (.363), junior outfielder/catcher
Casey Hargett (.359), junior designated player
Demiree Briones (.274), sophomore first baseman
Brianna Hampton (.268) and junior outfielder
Markell Wylie (.261) all batting over .250. Sophomore second baseman
Jenny Tracy (.291) also has a high batting average but missed the last several games due to injury.
Germ leads the Lady Eagles with 21 RBI and is tied with Wilson with five homers apiece. Germ – a preseason All-Conference award winner – has scored 21 times, trailing Hargett by one run. Wilson and Hargett have both knocked in 16 runs in 31 games. Briones adds pop to the Lady Eagles' lineup with four home runs and Hampton is batting a team-best .417 (10 for 24) with runners in scoring position for her 15 RBI.
Wilson (5-8, 4.57 ERA, 78 K) and junior
London Booker (8-9, 5.81 ERA, 65 K) have both pitched over 90 innings and have been the winning or losing pitcher in 30 of NCCU's 31 contests.
NCCU was swept by Bethune-Cookman last season. The Lady Eagles were held scoreless in losing all three close games in Daytona Beach, Florida by scores of 1-0, 1-0 and 2-0.
Bethune-Cookman University Softball
The Wildcats completed a weekend sweep of South Carolina State University on Friday and Saturday to begin MEAC play 3-0. Bethune-Cookman (10-24 Overall) is the preseason favorites in the Southern Division after winning the regular season title in 2014.
Senior outfielder Calesha Shelley – an All-MEAC honoree last season – leads the Wildcats with a .384 batting average, 24 runs and 13 stolen bases from the leadoff position. B-CU has two other players batting over .300 including junior Sophia Ortega (.337) and freshman Mariah Davis (.321). Ortega and senior Shamaria Engram (.281) paced the Wildcats with 18 RBI apiece.
Preseason All-MEAC selection Sabrina Anguiano has been relied on as Bethune-Cookman's primary pitcher having seen time in the pitcher's circle in 30 of 34 games. The sophomore hurler has a 7-20 record and a 4.78 ERA in 153.2 innings with 64 strikeouts.
B-CU is 11-0 against the Lady Eagles since NCCU started playing MEAC league games in 2010.
