Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University exploded for five runs in the first inning of game one, and Andrew Vernon (Raleigh, N.C.) finished it off with his record-breaking 15th career save to send the Eagles to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Baseball Championship with a 9-6 win over Florida A&M University at the Durham Athletic Park on Saturday, May 7.

In the second game, Ricky Page (Ocala, Fla.) was able to outlast Cameron Scalzo (Rochester, N.Y.) in a pitcher's duel to give FAMU (25-18, 15-5 MEAC) a 4-0 win.

NCCU (24-26, 11-12 MEAC) batted around in the first inning and Thomas Prospero (Batavia, N.Y.) powered a three-run shot opposite way to give the home side a commanding 5-0 lead after the first frame.  Jacky Miles, Jr. (Graceville, Fla.) put the Rattlers on the board with a solo shot in the second, and that started the beginning of FAMU's stead climb back into the game.

NCCU pulled a run back after a pair of errors to lead 6-1 in the bottom of the second, but after that the Rattlers kept the Eagles off the board while they scored runs of their own.

FAMU put together three runs in the top of the fourth with a two-RBI single from A.J. Elkins (Ocala, Fla.) and then Ben Ellzey (Ocala, Fla.) added an RBI hit in the fifth to trim NCCU's lead to one at 6-5.

The Eagles loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and a hit batter and an error allowed NCCU to score three crucial runs to pull ahead 9-5 going to the final frame. 

FAMU put runners on first and second and then a two-out RBI double from Ellzey brought the tying run to the plate and created a save situation for Vernon.  Vernon induced a groundball to the first baseman, and he took it to the bag to clinch NCCU's spot in the tournament.

In the second game of the day neither team could crack the scoreboard until a solo shot from Brian Davis (Pensacola, Fla.) gave FAMU a 1-0 advantage in the top of the sixth of the seven inning game. The Rattlers added three more runs in the top of the seventh to push the score to 4-0 going to the final half-inning.

Zachary Marszal (Cary, Ill.) and Conrad Kovalcik (Detroit, Mich.) came through with back-to-back two-out singles, but Page was able to seal the game for the shutout.

The deciding game of the series will take place on Sunday afternoon, May 8 at 1:00 p.m. at the Durham Athletic Park and will be carried live on the NCCU Sports Network, available at NCCUEaglePride.com.  Live Twitter updates can also be found by following @NCCUAthletics.

For ticket information regarding how fans can follow the Eagles to the MEAC Baseball Championship, you can visit MEACSports.com.

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