DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University's baseball team travels south to Florida A&M University for a three-game series that will see the winner take sole possession of first place in the Southern Division of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
NCCU (13-14, 5-3 MEAC) and FAMU (15-9, 5-1 MEAC) are even in total wins at five apiece, so the winner of the series will move to at least seven divisional wins for the seasons, and will be in prime position for the second half of the division schedule.
The Eagles and Rattlers are two of the top hitting clubs in the MEAC and NCCU leads the league in home runs with 26, which is also tied for 22nd in NCAA Division I.
Carlos Ortiz (Cleveland, Ohio) has been a big contributor in that department with five long balls, and he's also compiled eight doubles and two triples. Ortiz tops the conference with a .697 slugging percentage and has driven in 22 runs for a .342 overall batting average.
The Eagle pitching staff also leads the MEAC in strikeouts with 215, and
Andrew Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) has posted 39 of those to lead the conference individually. Vernon has a 4.12 ERA over 24.0 innings pitched, and collected two saves during his time as a reliever earlier in the season. Over his first two career starts Vernon has fanned 19 batters, with eight against Bethune-Cookman on March 20, and a season-high 11 against Savannah State on March 26.
While NCCU leads in power, FAMU leads in batting average with a .322 mark which is 11th in NCAA Division I. Alec Wong (Rockledge, Fla.) paces the league sensational .402 batting average over 37 total hits, including seven doubles and a home run.
Ricky Page (Ocala, Fla.) leads the FAMU pitching rotation with a 3.19 ERA over six starts and has hurled a complete game for a 1-2 record. Page is tied for the team lead with 18 strikeouts over 31 complete innings pitched, and has seen just 11 earned runs come across.
All games of the weekend series will be carried live on the NCCU Sports Network available at NCCUEaglePride.com, and live Twitter updates can also be found by following @NCCUAthletics.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.
