DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University rallied in the middle innings and then used the bullpen to lock up a 5-3 win against Longwood University on Tuesday, April 19 at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
NCCU (21-19) lifted back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the second to take its first lead over Longwood (22-16) with a two-run shot to right field from Conrad Kovalcik (Detroit, Mich.) followed by a tall solo blast from Christian Triplett (Wilkesboro, N.C.) to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead after two.
 
The Lancers fought back to tie 3-3 with an RBI walk from Sammy Miller (Shrewsbury, Pa.) and a single from C.J. Roth (Yorktown, Va.) in the top of the fourth, but left the bases loaded after a groundout ended the frame.
 
The Eagles used some clutch hitting in the bottom of the fifth to rally into the lead, after Zachary Marszal (Cary, Ill.) and Thomas Prospero (Batavia, N.Y.) delivered back-to-back two-out RBI singles to put the Eagles into the lead to stay.
 
The Eagle bullpen took over from the fifth inning on and shut down the Lancer bats as they didn't allow a single hit over the final four innings.  Jamar Hinton (Petersburg, Va.) was the pitcher of record after throwing two complete innings without allowing a runner, and James Dey (Charlotte, N.C.) racked up four strikeouts over the final two innings to get his first career save.
 
NCCU next goes south to take on Bethune-Cookman University as the Eagles continue through Southern Division play in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and the three-game series will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 23.
 
All games this weekend will be carried live on the NCCU Sports Network, and live Twitter updates can be found by following @NCCUAthletics.
 
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.