SAVANNAH, Ga. – North Carolina Central University eclipsed the 10-run mark for the 13th time this season as it picked up a 10-3 win over Savannah State to sweep the Tigers on Sunday, April 29 at Tiger Field.
NCCU (26-21, 10-11 MEAC) now stands one win away from tying the single-season win record that was set in 2013, and have broken the record of wins against Division-I opponents in the modern era.
NCCU again scored first in the contest, this time on an RBI single from
Zach Michalski (Belews Creek, N.C.) to take a 1-0 lead in the first frame. The Eagles stretched the lead to 2-0 in the top of the third after
Carter Williams (Brown Summit, N.C.) set things up with a leadoff double. He was eventually brought home on a sacrifice fly by
Corey Joyce (Lexington, N.C.).
SSU (5-29. 2-16 MEAC) found a way to level the game in the bottom of the third as it scored two runs on three hits. Juan Lugo (Hialeah, Fla.) started the scoring a sacrifice fly that turned into a close play at the plate, before Freddie Landers (Grayslake, Ill.) tied the game at 2-2 on a hit-and-run.
The Eagles broke the game open in the top of the fifth inning as they batted around, sending 10 men to the plate to score five runs and take a 7-2 advantage. Williams started the inning with a single and the bases ended up loaded before Michalski picked up a second RBI on an error.
Andrew Valichka (Pedricktown, N.J.), and
Evan Holland (Erial, N.J.) both had RBI hits, but the biggest hit of the frame came on a two-RBI single from
Mitchell McCrary (Mills Creek, N.C.).
NCCU tacked on three more runs in the top of the sixth with the first run scoring on a stolen base by Joyce.
Jordan Varela-Payne (Rolesville, N.C.) led off the inning with a single before moving to third on a single by Joyce, and touched home on the throw during the stolen base by Joyce. There was a throw back to the plate in an attempt to prevent Varela-Payne from scoring, however it got away to the backstop and Joyce moved to third on the error.
Dominic Cuevas (Gurnee, Ill.) knocked an RBI double, and Holland picked up an RBI single to round out the scoring in the frame.
The Eagle used five separate pitchers and racked up 12 strikeouts as a staff, with five coming from
Jonathan Figueroa (Chicago, Ill.) who was the pitcher of record for his league-leading seventh victory of the year.
Joyce finished the game 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored and an RBI, and both Michalski and McCrary drove in two runs for the maroon and gray.
The Eagle will finish the 2018 schedule with a five-game home stand that will begin on Saturday, May 5 with a doubleheader against MEAC Southern Division opponent, Florida A&M. The first game will begin at 1:00 p.m. and admission is free.
