DURHAM, N.C. – Carlos Ortiz (Cleveland, Ohio) hit a two-run shot in game one to break the North Carolina Central University school record for team home runs in a season at 36, and Andrew Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) broke the school record with 77 career appearances as the Eagles swept a doubleheader with North Carolina A&T State University, 8-0 and 4-3 at the Durham Athletic Park on Saturday, April 16.

NCCU (19-19, 7-7 MEAC) broke the game open in the second inning when the Eagles racked up three runs on four hits in that frame.  Zachary Marszal (Cary, Ill.) opened the scoring with a solo laser that went opposite way to right field, and that home run tied the school record for long balls in a campaign with 35.

Conrad Kovalcik (Detroit, Mich.) and Thomas Prospero (Batavia, N.Y.) followed with a double and a single and were eventually brought in by Christian Triplett (Wilkesboro, N.C.) and Ellington Hopkins (Lansing, N.Y.) to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead after two innings.

The Eagles struck for two more runs in the bottom of the fifth - all with two outs – after Ortiz slapped an RBI single and Marszal ripped an RBI double to the gap in right-center to bring  him a triple shy of the cycle.

Alex Dandridge (Arlington, Texas) had a strong outing for the Eagles as he was able to keep NC A&T (9-29, 3-11 MEAC) off the board through six complete innings.  Dandridge only saw himself in a jam once, and that was in the sixth inning where he issued his only walk of the afternoon to load the bases.  He dug deep and served up a strikeout to end the frame, his seventh of the day.

The team home run record fell in the bottom of the bottom of the eighth on a towering two-run shot from Ortiz that put the Eagles ahead 8-0 going to the final frame.

Devin Sweet (Greensboro, N.C.) was called in from the bullpen again for the final three innings and he went through with just one hit and one walk with three strikeouts to get his second consecutive three-out save in two save attempts.

Game two was filled with close plays at home plate, the first coming in the top of the second when the Aggies took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single from Kyle Clary (Lakewood, Calif.) that brought home the runner just a hair ahead of the tag at home plate.

The Eagles leveled the game in the bottom of the second on a double ripped down the left field line from Prospero that brought in Ortiz, but the second runner ended up being tagged out at the plate trying to take the lead.

NCCU broke into the lead in the bottom of the fourth after Ortiz touched home following a grounder that neither the first baseman nor pitcher could field cleanly, resulting in an error charged to the first baseman.

The Aggies regained the lead in the top of the fifth after a pair of RBI singles from Adan Ordonez and Dawnoven Smith moved NC A&T in front 3-2.  The Eagles came right back and struck for two runs on RBI doubles from Hopkins and James Dey (Charlotte, N.C.) to reclaim the advantage at 4-3 after five innings.

Vernon started game two and came back to the mound for the seventh inning and shut the door for the win in his record-breaking 77th career appearance, and capped the game with his eighth strikeout of the afternoon.

The Eagles will go for the weekend sweep over the Aggies tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park, and admission is free.  The game will be carried live on the NCCU Sports Network, and live Twitter updates will be available by following @NCCUAthletics.

For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.