DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University can book a trip to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament with a successful series against Florida A&M University this Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8 at the Durham Athletic Park.
NCCU (23-25, 10-11 MEAC) can mathematically secure a trip to the playoffs with two wins against FAMU (24-17, 14-4 MEAC), or one and a loss from Savannah State University.
With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Eagles are on the verge of one their best seasons at the Division I level, and have seen team and individual records broken along the way.
Carlos Ortiz (Cleveland, Ohio) is one home run away from becoming the first Eagle to hit double-digit home runs in two seasons, and in back-to-back campaigns after his teammate
Conrad Kovalcik (Detroit, Mich.) joined him to be the second member of the single season 10 home run club.
Ortiz has knocked 20 extra base hits this year, with nine doubles, nine home runs, and two triples for a slugging percentage of .583 which is on track to be a new single season record at NCCU. He is also third on the team in batting average at .318 with a team-high 39 RBI.
Cameron Scalzo (Rochester, N.Y.) is tied for second in the league and leads the Eagle pitching staff in wins with a 5-4 record, and he has worked through the most innings with 64 and two-thirds thrown. Scalzo has made 11 starts and has a 4.76 ERA, and is in the top-10 of the MEAC in innings pitched, ERA and opposing batting average and .256. Scalzo has won his last three decisions, and will be looking for a fourth during the weekend series.
FAMU is having one of its best seasons in school history, and while the Eagles battle SSU for the third spot in the division, the Rattlers are fighting their instate rival Bethune-Cookman University for the Southern Division title.
The Rattlers have been exceptionally strong at the plate with a league-best team batting average of .321, led by Ben Ellzey (Ocala, Fla.) who is third in the conference with a .359 rate at the dish. Ellzey is third on the club with 53 total hits, and second in runs scored with 40. He has tallied six doubles along with two home runs for 27 RBI to help the Rattlers.
NCCU leads the league in team saves with 12, and
Justice Sampson (Lumberton, N.C.) is tied for the lead with four, FAMU's Kendal Weeks (Quincy, Fla.) is right with him. Weeks has made 18 appearances from the bullpen which is second on the team, and has an ERA of 5.23 over 31 complete innings. He has struck out 16 batters and has allowed 10 walks and 18 earned runs.
The entire series and Senior Day against Charleston Southern University on Wednesday, May 11 will be carried live on the NCCU Sports Network, available at NCCUEaglePride.com and live Twitter updates can be found by following @NCCUAthletics.
For more information on NCCU Athletics, visit NCCUEaglePride.com.
