DURHAM, N.C. – North Carolina Central University took advantage of defensive miscues in game two of the doubleheader with Savannah State to split the twinbill, 7-12 and 4-2 on Saturday, April 29 at the Durham Athletic Park.
 
GAME ONE:
SSU (12-30, 3-14 MEAC) staked its claim on the first game of the afternoon by scoring nine unanswered runs through the first four frames, putting up five runs in the top of the fourth.  NCCU (18-26, 8-10 MEAC) chipped away at the deficit with four runs in the fifth and sixth innings, with RBI singles from Dominic Cuevas (Gurnee, Ill.), Corey Joyce (Lexington, N.C.) and Andrew Valichka (Pedricktown, N.J.), and an RBI double from Jake Raby (Granite Falls, N.C.).
 
Raby picked up a second RBI in game one on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh, and Joyce collected a second RBI on a fielder's choice in the eighth, but the Tigers picked up three runs of their own in the seventh and eighth to retain their large lead.
 
GAME TWO:
All of the scoring happened within the first three innings of game two, as the Eagles took the lead in the bottom of the first on RBI doubles from Joyce and Evan Holland (Erial, N.J.) to go ahead 2-0.  SSU tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the third on a two-run home run by Khalyd Cox (Palmetto, Fla.), but the Eagles immediately took the lead back with two more runs with the help of an error committed by the Tigers.
 
From there Jonathan Figueroa (Chicago, Ill.) shut down the visitors, as he allowed just two hits through six complete innings, and struck out seven batters.  Justice Sampson (Lumberton, N.C.) was called in from the bullpen for the final inning and fanned two of his own for his third save of the season.
 
The deciding game of the series will be on Sunday, April 30 at the Durham Athletic Park with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.  Admission is free.