Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 DURHAM, N.C. – After five games on the road, North Carolina Central University's baseball team finally returned to Durham to play its final two road games of the year at Duke University on Sunday, May 3.  The Blue Devils picked up the doubleheader sweep over the Eagles by winning game one 6-1, and game two by a score of 10-3.

NCCU (19-27) scored first in the afternoon as Ronald Thompson (Chadbourn, N.C.) brought home a run on a single in the top of the first to set a positive tone for the Eagles.  Duke (26-19) responded immediately in the bottom of the frame by putting their first three men on base, and bringing them all around to score, stamped by an RBI triple by Jalen Phillips (Ocoee, Fla.).

The score would remain locked at 3-1 for most of game one, due in part to Duke righty Andrew Istler (Wellington, Fla.).  Istler turned in a strong start by going five complete innings allowing just three hits and one earned run, while striking out seven and walking just one batter.

The Blue Devils added three more runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with two coming on sacrifice flies.  The third came on a ground rule double from Phillips with runners on first and second, holding a runner on third to finish the first game with a score of 6-1.

The Duke pitching staff commanded game two of the doubleheader as well, as Bailey Clark (Asheville, N.C.) turned in a quality start that kept the Eagles off the board, and mainly off the bases.  Clark went six complete innings and was reached for just two hits, and struck out four without walking a batter until his final inning of work.

Offensively, the Blue Devils were efficient, racking up 10 runs on 15 hits through the eight necessary innings.  NCCU didn't ease up as the Eagles broke up the shutout while sending nine batters to the plate in the top of the ninth.  Chrisitan Triplett (Wilkesboro, N.C.) notched his team leading 13th double of the year to open the inning before Devin Sweet (Greensboro, N.C.) cashed in with an RBI double to put the Eagles on the board.  James Dey (Charlotte, N.C.) pushed in a run on a groundout and Trevor Theissen (Franklin, Wisc.) followed with an RBI base knock to put the third and final run on the board for NCCU.

The Eagles will finish the season with three consecutive home games, starting with Presbyterian College on Tuesday, May 5 and Campbell University for Senior Day on Wednesday, May 6, with both games scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.  The final game of the regular season will be on Saturday, May 9 as the Eagles make up a postponed game with North Carolina A&T, with a trip to the playoffs on the line for NCCU.

All upcoming games will be carried live on the NCCU Sports Network, available at NCCUEaglePride.com.