Box Score DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University held a lead over Duke for six innings, but the Blue Devils made a late surge to take an 8-4 win on Wednesday, April 19 at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
 
NCCU (16-23) scored first against their crosstown rivals, driving in the first two runs of the game.  Evan Holland (Erial, N.J.) picked up the first run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and then Conrad Kovalcik (Detroit, Mich.) scored on a wild pitch in the top of the second.
 
The Eagles led Duke (20-19) through to the fifth inning on the back of strong pitching from Chris Gonnelli (Chaplin, Conn.) who pitched five complete frames with just two hits, one earned run and a pair of strikeouts to exit with a 2-1 lead going into the sixth inning.
 
The sixth inning is where Duke turned the tide, as the Blue Devils scored seven unanswered runs over two innings to take a 7-2 lead.  The hosts sent 11 men to the plate in the sixth inning to score five runs, with a pair of two-RBI hits from Jimmy Herron (Harleysville, Pa.) and Griffin Conine (Weston, Fla.).
 
NCCU worked its way back into striking distance with two runs in the top of the eighth on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Dominic Cuevas (Gurnee, Ill.), but the Blue Devils pushed home another run of their own in the bottom of the frame as the final tally.
 
Carter Williams (Brown Summit, N.C.) was one of the standout hitters for the Eagles by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Zach Michalski (Belews Creek, N.C.) had a pair of hits as well.
 
The Eagles now rest for a couple days before a MEAC Southern Division series with Bethune-Cookman starting on Saturday, April 22 at 1:00 p.m. with a doubleheader, and finishing on Sunday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. as well at the Durham Athletic Park.